Consequences
by greenstuff2
Summary: Molly never showed for their date in Bath and three years have passed when they meet again on an October morning at Brize Norton, much to their horror
1. Chapter 1

**October 2016**

**Charles**

Brize Norton on a cold wet October morning and a sense of deja vue swept over him, together with a sense of the inevitability of fate. Oh, there were differences to the last time, he was the battle casualty replacement this time and she was the accepted member of the team, but even so, Molly Dawes, the girl who, three years ago, had single handedly taken his life and smashed it into little pieces then walked away without a backward glance and he loathed her.

She looked just the same, her hair was maybe a bit shorter as she had lost that heavy plait, but apart from that she was still the girl he had fallen in love with in Afghan, the girl he had sat and waited for in a restaurant in Bath, waited for long after it became obvious that she wasn't going to show, still the girl he had texted frantically, worried that something had happened to her, until in the end she had replied with one word "Sorry", then promptly changed her mobile phone number so that he couldn't contact her again. She was still the girl he had seen at Smurf's funeral, the girl who had avoided all eye contact with him all afternoon, leaving him raw and in pain, still the girl who had never bothered to say why she had done it, and he was going to be working with her for six months. He had thought that the anger and the raw pain had gone, that time had taken care of them, but he knew that he would never be able to totally forgive and forget and that somewhere under his hard outer shell, he was still a bit hurt.

He watched through the terminal window as they waited for the cameraman to arrive and set up the pre-deployment photo shoot and waited for the nod from Beck to join him on the tarmac. Beck was chatting with her and some of the other members of the troop, a couple of which were familiar faces, and he wondered whether Beck was filling them in on Colin Norman's heart attack and the consequences, but on the whole he didn't think so, they were laughing and Colin's illness was no joke, no matter how big a bitch you are.

This was his first active service since that tour in Afghan and he was both nervous and excited. His injuries had been severe and the rehab had taken a lifetime but he was finally passed fit at the end of last year. He had spent the last twelve months doing refresher courses, getting his fitness back, doing a temporary desk job and being bored shitless while he waited to get his life back. That had happened two days ago when Beck had called him following Colin's coronary on the squash court and offered him the chance to deploy to the Syrian/Turkish border and he had jumped at it, of course he had.

He joined Beck who explained the circumstances to the assembled men and girls and introduced him as a very experienced Major who was probably known to some of them already and who was available at short notice because he had recently recovered from a severe battle injury sustained in Afghan and how lucky they were to have him. Charles looked along the assembled soldiers and nodded and smiled at those he already knew, who all looked gratifyingly pleased to see him and and then allowed his eyes to pass over Molly with an indifferent nod, although he couldn't help noticing, and enjoying, the look of absolute abject horror on her face.

They were bound for a highly volatile and dangerous area. Full of Syrian refugees and maybe even more than a few Islamic State terrorists and they would have the role of policing and keeping the area as stable as they could. It was not strictly a war zone as there was not supposedly any 'boots on the ground' in the conflict, well not as yet anyway, so it was complicated and challenging and he couldn't wait to do the job he was good at and that he had missed so much, but it was by far the largest group he had ever taken on tour, some 100 odd squaddies broken into 4 sections, 12 NCOs and eight medics and he was more than a bit worried about being ring rusty and because of the circumstances, had had no time to prepare. Beck's answer to that had been "In at the deep end, plan as you go and you'll be okay. I have every faith in you and you'll have a good team, so just get in there!"

There was time before they boarded for Beck to introduce him to the NCOs and to his surprise she was one of them. He nodded at her as he addressed her as Private Dawes not noticing the stripe on her arm, and Beck had jumped in with _"Lance Corporal Dawes, now, Major"_ which had forced him to acknowledge her promotion, albeit with very tight lips. She had responded with an acknowledgment of his own new rank but instead of having tight lips, he had the deja vue impression that she was laughing inside. His reaction this time was granite hard resolve of 'Oh no you don't lady, not again!' as he moved on to meet and greet some of the others, both those that were known to him and those that weren't, and including the other medics, all of whom were girls. One of them called Izzy was particularly attractive, tall and slim with blonde hair, the opposite of Molly, and for a moment he was tempted to smile into her eyes, but he was unsure of his motives and anyway, he smiled to himself, how did the saying go?…been there… done that …definitely don't want another T shirt….

**Molly**

I knew about the Boss's heart attack, we have all been joking with him for ages about how his dodgy habits of eating burgers and chips every day, smoking like a chimney and losing his rag with some of the squaddies, and then playing squash of all things, was a "heart attack waiting to happen" but I never really thought it would happen, or not for years anyway. He used to call me the 'health gestapo'. Why am I talking about him as if he's dead?, he's going to make a full recovery, course he is.

I have had my stripe for a couple of months now and am dead proud of myself, although I find it difficult to be the boss, especially as one of the girls, Izzy, is quite mouthy and does that 'yes, no, three bags full' act that I used to do with the Boss in Afghan. I find it difficult cos she reminds me of me, although she don't look anything like me. I keep wanting to tell her that you can't kid a kidder, and that I could teach her a thing or two about being bolshie and getting away with it! She's a blonde, very slim and pretty, and miles taller than me, which makes it hard when I am bollocking her as I have to stretch me neck to look at her face, it would be easier if I could have a box to stand on! I try not to bollock people if I can help it, it really isn't me, although I think some of the lads would disagree cos they seem to think I am a right old Sergeant Major, but I don't think so. I am working very hard on me swearing cos I heard someone say I was very pretty, shame about me potty mouth!

We are off to Syria or Turkey, one or the other, apparently it's quite hard to tell where the border is, to run a sort of local keeping the peace sort of thing cos it's not a war zone, or not for us it isn't, or at least until the bloody politicians say something different. I feel a bit sorry for the new Major, I know what it's like to be a last minute replacement and not know anyone and there are a lot of us, so it's going to be hard for him to sort everyone out in his head.

Fuck, fuck, fuckety fuck. I know I'm supposed to be giving up swearing but no other word will do. I want to be struck down with something horrible, anything will do, Ebola, Malaria, a heart attack, I'm not fussy just as long as it gets me out of here right now! I haven't seen him since Smurf's funeral and before that in a hospital bed in Birmingham and my heart is pounding. Oh, I don't love him anymore or anything like that, that was over years ago, it's just the shock of him appearing like that and the thought of having to work with him for months when I've managed to forget him and what I did.

I will always feel a bit guilty about what I did, but I was so out of my depth that I didn't know what else to do. Everything was running away from me and I couldn't stop it. As I tried to explain to my mum, when I was on tour everything seemed possible, Bashira, everything and him! I had had a crush on him for months, I adored him, and I had been terrified when I thought he was going to die, then he started to get better and he started to talk about us being together and said he was resigning his commission and I was shit scared, I hadn't thought it through at all, I really panicked. All I'd wanted to do was be with him, sleep with him if I'm honest, but he's a lot older than me, and he's very posh and he's loaded, and he speaks proper and he told me he lived in this really nice house and everything, and lets face it, I am none of them things so I knew we would never be, like equals, it would always be like he was in charge and I would have to spend me time being well, not grateful exactly, but always doing what he said and I couldn't do it. I would have been acting all the time and that's wrong, so it was as if I'd woken up from a dream. And I knew that everything that had gone to shit in Afghan had been my fault, all of it and it didn't matter how often he told me it weren't I knew it was and if he resigned his commission he would have nothing left cos I knew by that time that I couldn't stay with him. But I should have explained it to him, not just stood him up! I knew if I tried to explain it to him, he would have swept it all away, made everything seem possible again when I knew it weren't, so I ran away from him, changed me sim card and everything. I should have told him after Smurf's funeral but he looked so ill and unhappy that I was scared I would end up back with him again and that that would be the wrong thing to do.

So I went back to Afghan and tried to put him to the back of my mind and I did and then I sort of forgot him, haven't thought about him for months, until now! I nodded hello and called him Major and almost laughed when I remembered what he used to say about Lady Luck and I wondered where the fuck she was when you needed her1

**Authors notes: Trying something totally different which is based long after the other stories. I have been working away on this for some time In short breaks from the others and have now finished it so decided to upload it to see what you think. Reviews will be very welcome, please be kind. Dear Diary and Just a crush are continuing as usual.**


	2. Chapter 2

**The action that leads to conequences..**

**December 2017**

**Charles**

He pulled the hood of his parka more firmly over his head as he strode across the square feeling the full force of the biting wind and snow, the freezing temperatures were making his leg ache so much it was bringing tears to his eyes, the ache that he had 'forgotten' to mention to his hordes of doctors during the latter stages of his rehab. His leg was fine most of the time, but when cold weather hit…. He supposed that he really should go to the med centre and get some pain medication but he know that he wouldn't while ever there was a chance he will run into her. He chuckled as he acknowledged how ironic it was considering that a lifetime ago he had a developed a very low pain threshold to some very small blisters so that he could spend time alone with her. He knew he needed to stop thinking about her but the answer wasn't to turn his attention to another young medic, tempting as it was or rather tempting as she was. He was so busy looking at 'once upon a time' that he completely failed to notice there was someone walking towards him until he collided with her and almost sent her flying_. "Dawes! Oh, sorry" He_ put his hand out automatically to steady her, before withdrawing it rapidly, he had no wish to touch her! _"S'okay_" she regained her balance then said quietly,

"_You know, you should get someone to look at that for you don't you? give you something for the pain, you're limping"._

"_It's fine thanks, just an old war wound that plays up when it's cold"_

She looked for a moment as if he had slapped her, then her expression closed again as she turned and walked away into the snowstorm, but not before he heard her mutter childishly "_Please_ _yourself!"_

"_I bloody well will" _he muttered under my breath, being equally childish, then told himself to grow up, that he was the CO, the Boss, and it was more than time to act his age and was he going to do this for the rest of my life? She seemed to be fine almost as if they had been mere acquaintances that had lost touch, and it had all been such a long time ago, he wasn't in love with her any more so maybe it was time to let go of his anger and his hurt pride. It was New Year's Eve tomorrow with its usual forced jollities, so he would try very hard to make an effort to be more of an adult, to speak to her pleasantly, to make a fresh start for the year ahead, to be more professional, after all he had just proved to himself that he could hold a conversation with her, well hardly a conversation he gave a wry smile, more like a couple words, but he'd managed to use her surname and and he'd done it without screaming the one question that was uppermost in his mind whenever he clapped eyes on her "_Why?"_

**Molly**

Just ran into my worst nightmare, literally as it happens. I don't think either of us were looking where we were going in this bloody awful weather, but if I had seen him coming I would have taken the scenic route, anything to avoid him! He was limping badly but when I said something he turned into a sarcastic bastard. God, if anyone knows about his sodding war wound, it's me, it was my fault, so how could I ever forget? I didn't need him reminding me why he is in pain, although I hope it bleeding well hurts, it would serve him right for being so stupid!

I need to have a word with Izzy cos she is showing all the signs of having a massive crush on him, and if anyone knows what them signs are it would be me! Only problem is that I don't know what to say to her without telling her a lot of ancient history which I am definitely not gonna do, anyway, I am pretty sure that she won't admit anything to me, I just need to mark her card. I hope that he hasn't done anything stupid, although I don't suppose he has changed that much. Maybe I should ask him? Yeah right!

The work here is pretty intense and it's not made any easier by the sodding weather. I always thought these places were hot like Afghan, not bloody freezing and snowy, and we have had one or two cases of flu, I hope that it's not going to be an epidemic. I thought everyone had had a flu jab before we came, but there's always some who manage to avoid needles, daft buggers. New Years Eve tomorrow, so lots of pretending we're all having a great time while we all stay stone cold sober. I haven't had New Year's Eve at home since I joined up so I haven't had a New Year's drink for years. It used to take a fair bit to get me hammered, now one glass would have me dancing on the table or, more likely, asleep under it depending on what was in the glass! It's been a bit stressful lately, to put it mildly, so I would love to be able to go out and get totally trollied, a couple of thimbles full of vodka should do it cos I'm more than likely a very cheap drunk now!

**Charles**

He honestly didn't set out to be that stupid, it just happened. Little miss blondie, the medic called Izzy, appeared to have a bit of a crush on him and was flirting like mad, flattering but way out of line and he felt far too old. She reminded him of Rebecca to look at only a lot taller, and she even sounded a bit like her, but that was it. He had no intention of spending more than a few minutes talking to her then circulating to talk to as many people as possible before heading off as close to 1 minute past midnight as he could manage. The reason he carried on chatting to her for so long was that he caught a glimpse of Molly's face as she glanced their way and she was livid. So, how old was he? Flirting with one woman, who was little more than a teenager and by the way, was totally out of bounds, to try and make another woman, who was also totally out of bounds, and for even more reasons than the first, aware of what she is missing and what she threw away! He thought that Sam was probably more mature and he wasn't eleven yet. And he was turning into a bigger cradle snatcher by the day, wouldn't take long before he was officially classed as a dirty old man.

He had said his '_goodnights_' and _'Happy New Years'_, shaken a lot of hands and pecked a lot of cheeks, not Molly's though, she stuck out her hand to shake, so it was going on for 1.00 when he finally got into his own cabin and breathed a sigh of relief, which was pretty short lived. A sharp rap on the door shortened his life, as he thought for a moment it was blondie, but it wasn't, it was Molly and she barged straight in, with fire in her eyes and ice chips in her voice as she asked him what the fuck he thought he was doing. He turned away so that he had his back to her as he drawled that he didn't know what she was talking about . At this point she totally lost her temper and started yelling at him so he threatened to put her on a charge and she screamed back that of course he knew what she was talking about and no, they both knew he wouldn't put her on a charge, but if he had any bloody decency left at all he would stop using Izzy to try and make her jealous and anyway, it wouldn't work! He used his most superior tone of voice to turn the word "No?"" into a question and then added "You sure about that?" managing to sound both patronising and doubtful at the same time, knowing he was incensing her, then without warning and without any prior intention he grabbed her and kissed her. Not a soft gentle kiss like the only one they had ever shared, but a hard full on, teeth clashing kiss which got deeper and deeper and more and more passionate as she stopped protesting and began to kiss him back until we were both completely aroused. They started to undressing each other but that proved to be far too slow for their need to be naked and touching so they abandoned the undressing each other and ripped their remaining clothes off themselves as they fell across his bed.

He knew he was hurting her, she was very tiny and he was anything but, but this had nothing to do with making love, this was rough and all about raw need and punishment and complicated feelings of loss and betrayal and was literally going to be over in a matter of seconds. "Ouch, ouch, Charles stop it, you're hurting me" Her involuntary outburst of pain crashed through the red mist in his brain and acted like a cold shower. He stopped immediately, actually pretty appalled at himself. She didn't say a word, in fact neither of them had said a word since he started kissing her, but she stopped him moving away and she just started to move, gently at first, and this time it was making love as their breathing began to change and she ground her hips against him with each stroke and then whispered in his ear "_Don't stop, please don't stop" _ and he was lost, completely and utterly lost. She cried out as her body clenched and she reached the edge and fell over it which, in turn, pushed him way past the point of no return, something he had been waiting out for for years. They didn't say a word for what seemed like a lifetime and then he felt all the anger of what 'might have been' come flooding back so he lashed out with something deliberately nasty. He knew he had just made the biggest mistake of his life.

**Molly**

When I fuck up, I really fuck up big time, no half measures with this girl!

I knew exactly what he was doing and why he was doing it and I was bloody livid with him. I wasn't jealous. I admit that I still find him gorgeous to look at, every female here does, but I know what it is like to have a massive crush on him and she really is in it up to her neck. The worst of it is that I know there is no way of getting through to her what a huge mistake it is, she would no more listen to me than I would have listened to anyone else who tried to talk sense into me. It would have to be him. I would have to tell him to stop, I don't quite know how I'm gonna make him stop if he says no, but I'll worry about that later, how does it go now? She is in my charge, I have a responsibility for her.

We had a row, of course we had a row, and then we ended up kissing and then it got way past kissing. I think it started as a revenge fuck, then it turned into something else entirely and for a bit there, I really regretted what I had done three years ago. Afterwards it all went to shit, doesn't it always with him? The first thing he said to me afterwards was he wanted to know if I was on the pill or anything, so I shook my head and he pulled a face and said _"Christ, a one night stand of unprotected sex, lets hope I haven't just committed career suicide for that!"_ and I wanted to shoot him! I didn't expect him to say he loved me or anything stupid like that, those days are well over, but I didn't expect him to make me feel like a bloody slapper either.

I said I had to go cos I needed a shower and he said something like_," What, at this hour?"_ so I said that I didn't want to wake up in the morning still smelling of him. If he can be a sod, so can I, and then I left without bothering to look at him again. Now I remember why I'm glad I never got together with him!

**Authors notes: For those of you who wonder how she knew his name, she would have seen his medical notes and his divorce papers. I tried to be as tasteful as I could and have toned this scene down several times, still I hope I didn't offend anyone. Thanks for the reviews, you're all lovely! **


	3. Chapter 3

**The consequences begin …**

**February 2018**

**Charles**

He had heard them chatting in the ops room about some replacement medic who was due to arrive later that day and he had failed to make any connection at all until his radar had picked up her name.

"_Still, it's a shame about Dawes, she's a bloody good medic even if she is sodding careless, anyway her replacement should be up and running by tomorrow so there won't be a problem with the rotas" _He heard her name and his usual eavesdropping kicked in with a mounting sense of horror, had she made some ghastly mistake? Surely he would have been told if that was the case?

"_Silly cow! Did you believe all that bleeding bullshit about it happening before we came over here or is she hiding something? She's a bloody good looking girl, so if it was someone from here they got bleeding lucky!"_

"_I think she said she was going to have a termination so it don't make much difference does it? and I've never seen her with anyone."_

"_Hey, we could always use her as a dire warning for the others, there are one or two who could probably use it! It may be just as well she's gone home quickly._

They both sniggered as they left the room and he stood motionless and staring into space, absolutely horrified. He hadn't seen her to speak to since that night and she had made no attempt to speak to him, so he had assumed, with distinct relief, that they had dodged the bullet and were deliberately and successfully avoiding one another. How wrong could he be? She'd gone, GONE and without telling him, again! He was suddenly incredibly and illogically blisteringly angry with her that she had taken that bullet to protect him, and then left without telling him, again! She'd done it again, she'd pissed off without saying goodbye, and he hated her for it.

The rest of the tour stretched out in front of him and he knew that it was for the best that she had gone home, he could concentrate on doing the best job he could, and that he should be grateful to her, the consequences for him would have been catastrophic if she had been honest with people, but he wasn't, he wanted to yell at her, shake her till her teeth rattled, he was bereft. The problem was that he knew he loved her, he had always loved her, never stopped even when things were at their worst and seeing her again had made everything so much more difficult. Some corner of his heart had never quite caught up with his brain and he acknowledged for the first time that he had had a very faint hope that they could re-establish some sort of friendship by the end of this tour but he knew that he'd wrecked that forever on New Year's Eve. He shouldn't have gone to bed with her and he definitely shouldn't have parted from her on such bad terms. He knew she didn't love him so he was now unlikely to see her ever again, she would never forgive him for having to have an abortion, unlike a lot of blokes he didn't think it was a no big deal, and she was coping with it on her own. He couldn't see her asking for help from anyone, it wasn't her style.

**Molly**

I've said it before and I'll say it again, when I stuff up, I really stuff up big time!

I didn't want a baby, I don't want one. I am still too young, I want to go out and have fun, I want to be able to drink too much, have a laugh with my mates, go out on the 'pull', and carry on with my career which I am good at, not get fat and have a baby, all on my own!

I knew I was in trouble straight away. I couldn't sleep so I checked my diary and felt the first bit of panic. I couldn't have picked a worse night, or better depending on what you want, to hop into bed with someone without taking precautions. What was I thinking of? I knew I was pregnant when my period failed to show up, but I told myself it was the worry and panic, and the fact that my boobs were tingly and itchy was imagination and I only faced facts when I sat up one morning and had the sudden urge to puke. So I had to deal with it and I have never told so many lies in my life and I don't know why I bothered cos I don't think any of them believed a word I said anyway.

So I got to go home and I spent the last few days before I left there praying I wouldn't see him and that he wouldn't find out until I'd gone so I breathed a sigh of relief when I got on the plane, then cried all the way home. I used to imagine I would have a baby with him when we were 'waiting out' in Afghan, well obviously after we stopped 'waiting out,' I ain't the Virgin Mary, but it was just a daydream during when I adored him, it wasn't real. This is real. I have just been to the M.O. and I look and feel like shit! I look like I died in the night cos I am so pale with dark circles under my eyes from puking. They call it morning sickness, but I have got morning sickness followed by being queasy all day, followed by evening sickness, which is not a load of fun. I can't bear the smell of coffee or the taste of tea and all I can eat is onion soup, makes me think of Shazza so I don't fancy that either, and I'm so tired I could curl up and go to sleep right now on the pavement. I keep having to pee and my tits are so itchy and swollen that all my bras strangle me, so I can't wait to take them off when I get home. On top of feeling like something the cat dragged in, I keep having to defend myself all the time from people, and that includes Mum, who keep telling me that there is no shame in having an abortion and it is probably the best way to go, even the MO was at it this afternoon, 'talking me through my options'. I just wanna scream at everyone that I am not killing this baby, it is just plain wrong! We might not love each other anymore, but that ain't the baby's fault and I wanna put my hand on my stomach and tell her that I am going to keep her safe. It feels a bit like wanting to keep her dad safe in Afghan. And this ain't his fault neither, I could have stopped it at any time but I didn't want to, I've always fancied him, but that ain't love. The hardest thing is not being able to tell anyone who her dad is and everyone keeps asking, oh, and all the lies, and I'm a shit liar!

For the time being I am on sick leave, can't have Lance Corporals puking on the parade ground, it's bad for discipline apparently, but I will get maternity uniforms issued when I go back, bet they're glamorous! Got to go and buy some bras that fit, bet they're glamorous too, has anyone seen the hammock shop?

I have no idea what I am gonna do after she's born, I keep telling myself that she's definitely a girl cos that's what I want, I don't think I could cope with a little boy who looks like him. I'm gonna have to find childcare and that, and I won't be able to go on active service, unless it's in Croydon or somewhere equally handy, so in the meantime I am going to live with Nan which'll be okay….I hope.

I wonder if he knows about it all? Bound to by now I s'pose, I bet he's really pissed at me this time! I hope he's keeping his bleeding mitts off Izzy or rather that she's keeping her mitts off him!

**Authors notes: Told you I'd written loads of this! Thanks for your reviews and to those of you who are worried about their future, please trust me!**

I


	4. Chapter 4

**June 10th 2017**

**Not all consequences are bad…**

**Charles**

"_Hello"_

"_Molly"_

"_What the fuck do you want? and how did you know where to find me?"_

This was not exactly the warm greeting he had hoped for, but it was precisely what he had expected. There was no way he was going to tell her that a chance meeting with her friend Jackie in the coffee shop at Brize Norton had triggered this call. He had not long landed and had just bought a coffee before retrieving his car and setting off on the long journey to Bath, when he had seen her further back in the queue. He had waved at her to catch her attention and gestured that he would get her a drink, before turning back to the counter and flashing his pips and ignoring all the mutters of those who were still queuing before paying again, there were some advantages to being a Major. He had asked her casually, well as casually as he could manage, whether she had heard from Molly lately and Jackie said immediately that she had seen her the other day and that she was fine, happy really but still moaning about living with her Nan and not being able to drink. She was as casual as he was, without a clue as to what effect she was having on her listener. He couldn't believe how easy that had been. Weeks of weighing up different options of tracing her, Regimental records had been one although he knew how potentially dodgy that would be. The lads from 2 section that she might still be in touch with was another but all the potential ways and means were fraught with danger so to have the answer handed to him on the first plate he tried took the wind out of his sails. He was able to finish his conversation with Jackie without giving anything away, at least he hoped not, and then checked his phone to see if Molly's mum's number was still in his directory. It was, of course it was, so he phoned and asked if he could speak to her, knowing full well she wouldn't be there, so that he could get her Nan's number. To his combined horror and excitement her voice came down the line, if only he had known it was going to be that easy he would have taken his time to plan what he was going to say.

"_We need to talk about things, money and everything, and before you say anything, I'm not going away till we've talked. So, where do you want to meet me?"_

"_I don't wanna meet you cos I don't wanna talk to you, so leave me alone"_

"_Nope, can't do that. Meet me in 2 hours outside the Nespresso shop on Regent Street_"

"_Why there?"_

"_Cos I know where it is and I know you know and I'm not a Londoner so I don't know where anywhere else is. Oh and by the way, don't even think of being a no-show cos I'll come and find you at your Nan's and I'll come in my suit and pretend to be a debt collector or something to embarrass her and then refuse to leave until you let me in."_

He heard the welcome sound of her giggle.

"_If you think a debt collector would embarrass my Nan, it's obvious you don't know her"_

"_Two hours Molly, or I'll come and find you"_

**Molly**

'What a difference a day makes', that's the name of the song I think.

Well, this one certainly made a difference. I was lying on the sofa at mum's stroking my bump and feeling her wiggling and shuffling about, which is still a novelty, I didn't know what it was to start with, and showing off her scan pictures, definitely a girl, I was right. I was thinking how much I would love to be able to show him and talk about her when, speak of the bleeding devil, who should phone but a bloody big blast from my past, one I've been dreading speaking to. I knew I'd have to speak to him one day, I couldn't just risk him pitching up on a parade ground one day and being introduced as my new boss or him being contacted by the CSA for a DNA test. I wonder if he has forgiven me yet or if why he's calling me, we ain't exactly friends. Mind you he probably thinks I had an abortion cos that's what I said to everyone at the time, even though it was always going to be a lie.

He wants to meet me in London in a couple of hours to talk about money so he knows I am still up the spout, and that I didn't get rid, so he probably wants to buy me off to make sure I keep my gob shut! I must not cry if he does, I have done enough crying over him since I first met him and it ain't good for the baby when I get upset

**Charles**

He checked into a hotel and only gulped slightly when he was asked to pay the equivalent of the national debt of some small country and was grateful that he had plenty of credit on his card, one advantage of being away on active service, then changed into what civvies he had with him and set out to meet her. To say he was nervous would be an understatement. She didn't see him at first, he thought she was maybe looking for someone in uniform and didn't recognise him, so he watched her standing there looking lost with his hand running through the back of his hair and his teeth catching his bottom lip until his face broke into the widest possible smile as, knowing he was taking a massive risk, he grabbed her in a huge hug and kissed her firmly on the lips.

"_You daft cow, what the hell did you think you were doing? Right come on then, where shall we go for a chat, your Mum's?"_ he saw the involuntary shake of her head _"Okay, maybe not, your Nan's then?"_ another very similar shudder _"Okay, Bath it is then"_ He knew exactly what reaction he would get to that suggestion and so far she hadn't said anything apart from _'hello'_

"_I'm not going to Bath,I've heard it's shit, Okay, Nan's will have to do I s'pose". _She couldn't have sounded less enthusiastic if she tried.

"_Right, let's find a taxi"_

"_Bloody hell, what's wrong with the tube? Or are you too posh?"_

"_Can't kiss you on the tube and I badly need to kiss you"_

"_Of course you can kiss on the tube. What did you just say?"_

"_Thanks for the invitation, but I'd still rather kiss you in a taxi. I've always wanted to kiss someone in the back of a London cab"_

"_Maybe I don't wanna kiss you? Have you thought of that?" _She sounded like a petulant child stamping her foot!

"_Rubbish, you know you love me and you know you're all that matters to me" _He knew he was unashamedly using a phrase from their past in Afghan in the hope she would remember, but he also knew that he meant every word.

He knew she was nervous, she was fiddling round with the kettle and cups making tea that neither of them wanted, more for something to do than anything else. She had just told him that the baby was a girl and showed him the scan pictures and he was terrified to show too much emotion as he was not yet sure where he was going to fit into his daughter's life. That she was going to be in his life he was adamant about but he wanted her mother as well, 100% full time, he didn't want to let her out of his sight again, so he thought he had to tread very carefully as he still didn't really know why she had left him the first time. He was beginning to think that it had had nothing to do with not loving him!

He thought Molly looked beautiful, all rounded and glowing with her baby bump very obvious now she had taken off the long cardigan thingy she had been wearing. He gave into temptation and went behind her and put his arms round her non-existent waist, pulling her back against him, his hands flat on her bump, and started to kiss the nape of her neck under her hair, then turned her round and started to kiss her in earnest. The kiss got deeper and more and more passionate, he couldn't believe how incredibly sexy she was. If he had been asked he would have said that a woman who was almost six months pregnant wouldn't be very sexy at all, how wrong could he be! He was trying to steer her out of the kitchen when she stopped him.

"_Charlie, stop it. My Nan could be back any second and we are supposed to be talking"_

"_How did you know my name?"_

"_I've always known your name, it's on your medical records you pillock, or did you think they redacted them for officers? And anyway I used it on New Year Eve" _

"_What, you expect me to remember that what with everything else you did?"_

She slapped him, then laughed, a happy full blown giggle that he used to call her smirk, and he pulled her onto his lap on the chair, knowing that she would be able to feel just how aroused he was and began to kiss her again. She muttered something about talking so he stopped kissing her and looked at her straight in the eye and told that he hoped she knew how sorry he was and that he didn't want to talk about the past, it was gone, finished, over with, they couldn't change it or fix it, so it wasn't what mattered any more. Here and now and the future mattered not the back then.

"_Are you sure you can live with that? Without talking about what happened? and you said we had come here to talk, And what the hell are you sorry for, it was me that stuffed up"_

"_No it wasn't it was me and I lied about wanting to talk to you, I just wanted to be on my own with you. I hope your Nan doesn't come back soon otherwise I won't be able to get up and say hello and you're not helping, sit still for God's sake. She's going to think I'm very rude."_

"_She will anyway if she sees that" _she stroked him through his jeans and laughed as he groaned, then went on_ "I think my Nan will be able to guess what we've got up to in the past_" She stroked her bump and kissed him.

He took a chance and kissed her bump, then told her that he couldn't quite believe how lucky he was but he thought that they should move to the hotel as a matter of urgency before her Nan came back. She wanted to know what hotel he was talking about and was then outraged by the fact that he hadn't mentioned it before, so he hugged her and asked if 'better late than never' would do as an excuse, then, as she shook her head, he said it was because he loved her so much that he keeps forgetting things when he sees her, so she hit him and asked him why he was being a lying sod and if he wasn't careful she would take him on Jeremy Kyle. He said he had no idea who that was, but if he found out he would definitely give her his answer.

**Molly**

Well how wrong could I be?

He didn't want to buy me off at all, he wanted me back with him where I should always have been, where I would always have been if I hadn't been such a stupid kid who was scared rigid at the time. A stupid girl who was suffering from PTSD and was ashamed of it, thought she had to hide it and deal with it on her own, didn't trust anyone, not even a bloke who, she knew, adored her. What a waste of time! He doesn't want to go over the past, says it's over and he's very sorry for stuff he said and did on New Years Eve, so we're even and now he just wants to be happy with me and with our baby and make decisions about the future. He looked bloody drop dead gorgeous in his civvies, I've never seen him out of uniform before, well, except in a hospital bed and that doesn't count, oh, and in the gym and a paddling pool without a shirt on, but I had to look away then in case anyone saw me drooling. I'm not sure you can say the same thing about maternity clothes, but it didn't seem to worry him, he spent most of the afternoon trying to get them off me anyway, and he kept telling me I was bloody gorgeous and that I was driving him insane and offering the evidence to prove it.

I really do love him, I don't think I ever stopped.

**Charles**

No matter how hard I tried to tell myself that it was all over, that I hated her, that she was a waste of time and space, I always knew, somewhere in the back of what brain I've got, that she was there, that one day I would come across her again, the army is pretty incestuous, everyone runs across everyone from time to time. I also knew that when I met her again that we would be together, probably wishful thinking, but I think it is Lady Luck, Molly was always destined to be the other half of me. I didn't try hard enough to stop her going the first time she left, I should have known that I was coming on far too strong with all my talk of the future, I was suffocating her. I didn't mean to but everything had gone to shit and I was clinging to the one thing I loved and I was scaring her half to death.

The second time she left was my fault as well. I behaved like some sort of Neanderthal, first almost raping her and then treating her like some little slag in order to punish her for all the 'might have been's and 'what could have been's and because I wanted her in my life so much and I couldn't have her. Then, when she found out she was pregnant, she couldn't get away fast enough and I don't blame her. Somewhere in my heart I knew she wouldn't have had an abortion, wouldn't have got rid of my child, that no matter how difficult things were she would never had done that, but I couldn't do anything about anything while I was on tour, so I spent the last four months doing the job the best way I can, avoiding all young medics no matter how pretty and flirtatious they were and how keen they were to spend time talking to me, which was my own fault for starting it, and making plans for what I would do when I came home to try and get her back in my life.

This turned out to be much easier than I could ever have imagined. I have just made love to Molly and it was just as spectacular as the first time although I was a bit scared to start with, I didn't want to hurt her or the baby but she laughed at me and told me that as long as I didn't repeat the rough stuff it would be fine and it was. We talked about the baby and I put my hand on Molly's bump so that I could feel her moving, but I couldn't feel anything to start with. Molly laughed at me and said not to be so impatient, she wasn't a squaddie so I couldn't order her to move, then I felt these little ripples deep in her mother's belly and felt my daughter move for the first time. What a day!

**Molly**

This hotel is well nice and I would love to stay here but Charlie says that it is so bloody expensive that he would have to send me out begging like the little match girl if we stay here too long, haven't got a scooby who she is, but there you go! He wants to go to Bath tomorrow, course he does, he has just got back from tour and he came to see me first and wants to see his parents and Sam. I want to stay at home, but he says he doesn't trust me not to do a runner and he won't let me out of his sight. I think he's joking or at least I hope he is, I ain't gonna live under his thumb cos that was the problem I saw happening last time, but it is up to me to slap him down if he gets too bossy, I'm not a kid anymore. I ain't looking forward to meeting his mum and dad, I shouldn't think I would be their first choice as girlfriend for their only son, but he loves me and I love him and we have loved each other for quite a long time now, well on and off to be honest, but they don't need to know too much about that. I must ask him tomorrow how much they actually know about back then, I'd rather know than wonder.

We had some food from room service which was seriously nice and then the baby started to jiggle around so she obviously takes after her dad and likes posh food, so I told him and he put his hand on my bump and she promptly stopped. He got a bit impatient so I told him to wait out and we both smirked, then she set off again and his face was a picture. I felt a bit bad that I had tried so hard to keep him away from her. He said if we wanted to live on room service food that cost as much as that did, he would have to put me on the streets, cheeky bugger, so I told him no-one would fancy me in this state, and he told me to stop fishing for compliments, which I was, and that I was the most gorgeous girl he has ever seen as I know only too well.

We made love earlier and I have to say, God, he's good. I remember the girls back on tour speculating, which was a bloody difficult conversation for me to listen to seeing as how I didn't tell a soul about us, anything about us at all, not our history or nothing. I hope that Izzy never found out what he's like, but I don't think so cos he knew he would lose me forever if he did that. If I'm gonna stay with him, and I think I am, then I'm gonna have to get used to girls perving on him, cos when you look like he does and you are in charge as well, it's gonna make you bleeding hard to resist, I should know! He treated me like glass when we made love until I got a bit impatient with him and told him I wouldn't break and then had to show him I wouldn't. He was terrified of hurting me or the baby, but I told him to not even think of the rough stuff if he ever wanted to walk again, but other than that, he was good to go. I wished I hadn't mentioned it, cos he got all upset about it again, I don't think he is ever going to stop feeling guilty about it. Good!

If someone had told me when I came home from tour or when I was so bloody miserable at the start what with all the puking and that, that I was going to end up this happy, I would have called them a bleeding liar, so it just goes to show doesn't it. I don't actually know what it shows, but it sounds bloody good.

**Charles**

We are going to Bath tomorrow to sort out where we are going to live, all three of us. Molly doesn't want to go, I think it is a bit like laying a ghost for her, she says she is nervous about meeting my parents, but I have told her that not only will my dad be seriously impressed that I managed to hook up with someone like her, but that I managed to get her pregnant as well, and even more impressed that I broke regulations to do it, and my mum will be rushing out of the door two minutes after we arrive waving her credit card ready to start buying pink and frilly stuff for her granddaughter and may need to be handcuffed after a while. And don't forget she saved my life as well and my parents are never going to forget that, even if she does. But I will ring them in the morning and make sure they know what to expect, I don't want any shocked faces when they see how pregnant she is. I am happy to show off her bump and her, I love them both.

**Authors notes: Nothing like a nice bit of romantic slop on a miserable cold Saturday afternoon in January. Thanks for all your lovely comments, I know this is not great literature but it made me feel so good writing it and I hope it made you feel good reading it.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Expectations have consequences…**

**June 11****th**** 2018**

**Molly and Charles**

"_You're insatiable" _He lifted her off him gently and she curled into his side with her head under his chin as he put his arms round her.

"_I know …and I know what it means" _She lifted her head and smirked at him, then went on_ "Are you moaning?"_

"_No, no, no, no, God no, no you can seduce me any time you like and anywhere you like" _he thought for a second, then added "_Within reason of course"_

"_Oh, bugger, you are a spoilsport, I thought I'd go for a parade ground next time"_

"_Yeah, that'd be funny if I thought you were joking!"_

She had come into the bathroom where he was looking into the shaving mirror wearing a towel loosely knotted round his hips and had pressed the length of her naked body onto his back while undoing his towel, putting her arms round his waist and running her index fingers down the inside edge of each hip bone, with the inevitable consequences that they had ended up back in bed. She was trying very hard to distract him from getting ready to leave the hotel, she didn't want to go to Bath.

"_So, when did you get so insatiable then? I never noticed signs of it when we were in Afghan, mores the pity!"_

"_You wouldn't play with me in Afghan so how would youknow? and anyway I would have been too worried about getting pregnant back then, with bloody good reason as it turns out" _She smirked at him, and then thought for a minute_ " I was so bleeding miserable when I first got home, so sick and manky that I was sure I was never gonna want to go to bed with any bloke ever again, even you, and I couldn't imagine why anyone in their right mind would want to do this more than once. Then, one day I woke up feeling good, not just better, but really good and I looked in the mirror and I realised I looked good as well, I had these great tits, much bigger than before…"_

"_I noticed" he interrupted with a smirk on his face_

"_Shut up….. anyway I had always wanted bigger tits and I had this smooth baby bump appearing, quite small, but definitely there and getting bigger every day and I was suddenly really excited. I had this baby in there and I was proud of it and I wanted everybody to notice. I wanted to wear clingy clothes and show it off and…"_

"_I would have been excited if I'd known"_

"_Liar"_

"_Well I would have been when I stopped panicking_" he laughed so she decided to ignore him and carry on trying to explain.

"_Then I began to feel really sexy all the time, I wanted to know what it would feel like to have someone's hands run over my bump…"_

"_Mine, I hope"_

"_I haven't wanted to go to bed with anyone apart from you since we first met in Afghan, so, why would I start wanting to now? Although, now I come to think about it, it's a good job you came and found me when you did….."_

He became aware that her fingers were making circles on his muscles as her hand was wandering down towards his groin, so he grabbed her hand and took it up to his lips and kissed her knuckles.

"_We have to get ready to check out of here otherwise we have to pay for another day, so stop trying to check my recovery time and stop trying to distract me. We not only have to pay the bill here but the underground car park as well and the car has been there for nearly 24 hours. And the Congestion Charge and don't forget the posh food from room service… and I've got a new daughter to support not to mention her mum so we can't afford another day here. We can go home and you can seduce me there for free"_

"_Which car park?"_

"_Sloane Square"_

"_Oh, shit we'd better go!" _

**Molly**

We've been to Nan's so I could pick up some clothes and stuff, but Nan wasn't in so Charlie couldn't meet her which was a shame, so now we're on our way to Bath. His face was a picture when he got the bill from the car park and he added it to the bill from the hotel. He kept saying things like _'God, you're expensive'_ and _'I could have bought a new car for that' _and I was laughing so much that I couldn't speak. When I could speak again I told him to stop exaggerating and said '_I was worth it wasn't I_?' He said he didn't know at the moment and would tell me when he'd recovered from the shock! So I slapped him, pillock! After a bit he asked how the hell Londoners' manage to pay those prices and I pointed out that Londoners' don't stay there or use the car park, they get the tube and go home. Places like that are for foreigners and posh boys up from places like Bath, which shut him up.

I asked him what his mum and dad had said when he told them he was bringing him a pregnant floosy and that I bet his mum weren't exactly thrilled, and bless him, he got all worried and said that he had told me over and over that they were going to love me, and that I wasn't a floosy. I didn't keep on about it, but I bet any money you like that's what his mum thinks. He said that we needed to talk about what we were going to tell people about the tour and New Year's Eve and that, so I said he could say anything he liked as long as he didn't tell them it was all my idea. Cheeky bastard said _"Oh, you want me to lie then?" _so I told him to be very, very careful what he said about New Year's Eve or he might be sorry, which set him off on the apologising again until I pointed out that I meant what I said last night about being scared he wasn't gonna let me join in! I had to tell him to watch the road cos he turned his head to look at me and said how much he loves me and how he doesn't ever want to be without me again, which was nice, I have a feeling I'm gonna need as much nice as I can get over the next couple of days.

**Charles**

Molly keeps laughing at my shock over the cost of parking a car overnight in Central London, let alone the price of a hotel room, but Jesus I am out of touch, but, as she keeps saying, Belgravia was never going to the same price as a Travelodge so I need to get over it! I must shut up about it now, I don't want her to think she isn't worth it to me, if it makes her happy I don't give a shit what it cost. I know that the closer we get to Bath, the more she is worrying about what my parents will make of her, she seems to have got hold of the idea that my mother won't be thrilled to see her and will think she is some kind of trollop, I have no idea where that has come from as it is complete rubbish, well I hope it is anyway. I spoke to my mum this morning and now that Molly has planted a seed in my brain I am beginning to wonder whether it was my imagination or not or was she a bit frosty and hostile when she asked about Mol. Surely not, my mum should know, if anyone does, just how miserable I was without her and how happy I am going to be to be back with her again. The baby is a bit difficult to explain away, simply because she was conceived on tour, but then she is going to be a bit difficult to explain away to all sorts of people, not least Beck and the rest of the army hierarchy. It's going to need some very careful thought and some very creative lying, which I won't let Molly anywhere near as she is a terrible liar! So transparent that she might just as well have a sign on her head saying 'I'm lying, don't believe a word I say'. It's going to be a bit difficult to explain Molly and the baby to Sam as well, the baby more than Mol. I am going to look an enormous hypocrite when, in a few year's time, I start telling Sam to be careful and to always practise safe sex, he's only got to say "You didn't" hasn't he? I think I'll leave worrying about that to another day, hopefully It will be a while before I have to!

Molly has nodded off and she looks just like a kid, sometimes when she is asleep, she looks so young that I worry that people will think I am a cradle snatcher. She is probably exhausted because we didn't get much sleep last night. Apart from the obvious making up for lost time, which we did a great deal of, we talked a lot about what happened in the past and I think I understood what happened after I got out of hospital and we talked about what happened on New Year's Eve. She said she knew what I was trying to do with Izzy and I asked her if it had worked, she said that of course it did, she had wanted to scream at Izzy to leave me alone because I was hers, and that she had had every intention of kissing me and probably more when she came to my quarters, because she had just realised that she still loved me. She told me that the thing that had upset her the most when I turned into some sort of caveman was that she had been scared I wasn't going let her join in. I don't believe her but I love her to bits for saying that. I am never going to let anyone hurt her.

**Penny and Bill James**

"_Did you hear all that? What the hell does he think he is playing at now?" _ Penny James was banging cups down on tray without looking where they were landing _"Hasn't he been through enough in the last couple of years without starting all this up again? And he says she is pregnant and that it's his, but how can it be? he only got back from tour yesterday and apparently she's six months pregnant so the sums don't add up at all!" _

"_Calm down while we've still got some cups in one piece Penny_" Bill James took the last cup out of his wife's hand_, "I presume this is Charles we are talking about_" his wife nodded fighting back the tears that were threatening to start flowing _"So start what up all over again? And who's pregnant?"_

"_Do you remember when he got back from Afghanistan, when he was injured?"_

"_How could I forget?_

She started to tell him about Charles' constantly asking after Molly, full of anxiety about her. Whenever he was awake, which wasn't often as he was in an induced coma a lot of the time, but when he was brought round the first thing he asked each time was "_Where's Molly? Is she okay_? So his mother had formed a very strong opinion that there was more going on between them than CO and medic and that she had somehow been involved in the shooting. As Charles began to recover she knew that this Molly had visited, Rebecca had seen her there, and that they had texted and phoned each other while he was in the hospital and she knew without a doubt, and without being told, that her son was deeply involved with this girl. She knew the girl was a medic who had saved his life, and was sure that a heady mix of misplaced hero worship and natural gratitude mixed with the rebound from Rebecca and the vulnerability of a severely injured man whose life was about to be turned upside down if he had to leave his first love, the army, had led to some sort of relationship between Charles and this girl, who was, according to Rebecca, very small and very pretty. Charles had seemed to be very happy when he left hospital and then suddenly he wasn't. Penny never found out what went wrong but she knew it had something to do with this girl who had vanished from his conversation and he was worryingly morose and miserable, drinking too much, snapping at everyone and being thoroughly unpleasant to be around. He had slowly got back to normal, but was even more closed up and detached than before his last tour, then, suddenly, apparently she was back.

"_There is no way I am going to stand by and let this happen again. Every time she has been involved in his life it has ended badly and I can't bear the thought of him being hurt all over again"_

"_Sorry love, but I don't think you can do anything about it and I don't think you should try. He's a grown man, he's nearly 33 for heaven's sake, he's old enough to make his own decisions…..and mistakes if that is what it is and it's got nothing to do with us. In any case we don't even know it it's the same girl yet__**"**_

**Charles**

Need to wait for a minute or two before we go in because I have just woken Molly up and she is all sleepy and rumpled, God, she looks sexy when she's rumpled, mind you I remember that from Afghan, and she is wearing a hell of a lot less now than she used to wear there. I am not sure now why I made such a big deal of coming here today, yes, I want to see mum and dad, and to see Sam tomorrow, but we could have easily spent another day in that hotel enjoying our sort of 'honeymoon' and feeding our baby posh food from room service. We have only got 3 days before I have to be back in barracks so why was I hell bent on wasting more than one with other people when it could have just been us? Maybe we can stay over somewhere on Thursday night? Molly has an ante-natal check on Friday and she says I can't go with her because it is all about heartburn and piles, but I want to go anyway. We may have to fight about it! I have to report to Bulford at 16.00 on Friday and I haven't got a clue what is going to happen after that, we are going to have to make some plans.

"_Mum, Dad, this is Molly, Molly these are my parent, Penny and Bill James"_

**Authors notes: Maybe the story wasn't quite finished after all. Thanks for all your lovely reviews, there is a bit more of this to come so let me know what you think and if there is anything you would like to see included.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Expectations bring consequences…**

**June 11 2018**

"_Mum, Dad, this is Molly, Molly these are my parents, Penny and Bill James"_

**Molly**

Well, that went well, not. His dad seems nice, well I would think that cos Charlie looks just like him, his dad is still seriously good looking for an old guy. When I shook his hand he looked a bit surprised that I have a firm handshake, it's one of the things we were taught, not to have a limp, drippy handshake, all girly and soft, but to grip firmly. I have got very tiddly hands so older blokes always look surprised. I noticed that he didn't look at my bump or my boobs once, he kept his eyes above my shoulders all the time and It must have been quite difficult cos he is even taller than Charlie so he had to look down a long way. Obviously where Charlie gets his gentleman manners from! We should have rehearsed what we were going to say cos I kept thinking of all the things I didn't want him to ask cos I didn't know what I was supposed to answer, so it wasn't exactly a relaxed conversation. I must have looked like the village idiot!

His mum is a whole different ball bag! What a miserable old cow. Oh, she's quite polite but she had a look on her gob like she'd been sucking lemons and my guess is that she won't be inviting the neighbours round to meet me any time soon, it was obvious that she was looking at me and wondering where he'd found the trollop he'd bought home. She's got a really posh voice, so she reminds me of one of those people off Sunday night tele, the one's that Nan calls 'all fur coat and no knickers'. Poor Charlie was mortified. He did his best to keep the conversation going but we ran out of things to say pretty quick, there were so many 'don't go there' areas that once we'd done the _"how are you_" and _"pleased to meet you_" there was nothing left! When I first met Charlie in Afghan and I hated him, I used to call him "Your Lordship", not to his face obviously, and his mum reminds me so much of the way he was then that I wonder if I should have curtseyed instead of shaking her hand. Something tells me that we are not going to be best mates! Strange, really, she's posh and horrible while my mum, who, let's face it is as common as muck, well we all are, would never be so shitty to someone she didn't know, especially not someone that means a lot to one of her kids. Nan might, but not with Charlie, she wants me to be happy, and she'd probably like her flat back! Dad wouldn't bother, he's too pissed most of the time to notice.

I am up in Charlie's room, cos I said I needed a nap, which I don't, I have just had one, but I don't wanna stay down there a minute longer than I have to. His room reminds me of a hotel room and this is a seriously posh house, more like a stately home than a house, but he keeps telling me to remember that it isn't his house, he just squats here when he's not on tour and sponges off his parents. It don't matter cos there is no way on this earth that I am going to live here, I'm not even sure I'll make it past tea-time tonight. I tried to make him feel better by telling him that it isn't his fault that his mum is a miserable old cow and laughing. He didn't laugh at first so I nudged him until he couldn't help laughing with me. He has gone down to get his kit and that out of the car, and to move his car to where he parks it, as a parking ticket would finish him off, or so he says, but I reckon he's gone to give his mum an earful.

I thought everything was going to get better when we got together yesterday, Jesus, was it only yesterday? feels like a lifetime, but who was I kidding? Nothing has changed, not really, I am still going to be his guilty secret and I am still going to have to keep who her dad is a secret but at least I can tell me mum and Nan. I have a feeling they are not gonna be exactly thrilled either but more cos he was my boss and cos I never mentioned that we were even friends, although Nan probably has a fair idea from things I said. So what exactly was the point of coming here, had he got some idea of us living here? I seriously wanna go home now, please.

**Charles**

I have just moved my car from outside the house to where we park so that I don't get a parking ticket on top of everything else, but what I really need is to get away for a minute to try to come up with a reason why my mother is behaving like the first class bitch from hell! What on earth does she think she's doing? And Dad is not much better, he was at least polite to Molly, but why on earth didn't he put a stop to mum's little performance? Molly being Molly tried to turn it into a joke to make me feel better and she showed remarkable restraint, something she is not normally known for, she must have been longing to put mum back in her box, I know I was. I feel very let down by them after the write-up I gave them and after dragging her all the way down here instead of staying tucked up in a 5* hotel with seriously good room service, I am ashamed of them, especially mum!

Just had the final straw, Rebecca just phoned to tell me that I won't be seeing Sam any time soon as she doesn't want him to end up sounding like someone from the cast of Eastenders as she is sure I don't, although from what she's heard I may not find it a problem. Bitch! Obviously in good company with my mother, when did they get so pally? Or is it just that they have combined to disapprove of a beautiful, warm hearted and kind girl who they don't even know and who I happen to love more than anyone else in the world, excepting Sam, of course, and that's different.

I have just confronted mum and dad in the kitchen, said that I wanted to thank them for making Molly so welcome in my family home, bearing in mind how important she is to me, and how grateful I was to mum for screwing up my visit with Sam, seeing that I haven't seen him for nearly eight months. I don't think Dad knew about that because I saw him glare at mum, but he didn't say anything. Mum started to say something about only wanting to protect me, to stop me getting hurt or something and that she was only worried about me, but I refused to listen and reminded them that I am 33 not 13 and that they had just forced me to choose and that we would be out of their way first thing in the morning. I told them that we would leave tonight but, in case they hadn't noticed, Molly is pregnant and has had a very long and tiring day already today and she needs a meal, which we are going out for, and a good night's sleep. Then I walked out, I'm good at that, ask Molly.

**Penny**

I may have made a misjudgement calling Rebecca, Bill certainly thinks so, but I thought if he had to choose between Sam and that girl, he would choose Sam every time! Apparently not! I just couldn't believe it when he brought her in, how old is she for goodness sake, sixteen? Okay, she must be older than that, she was in Afganistan with him and that was over four years ago. She is very tiny and was very crumpled, had obviously been asleep in the car, and she's definitely very pregnant and with a baby that can't possibly be his. She's roughly six months pregnant and he was deployed over eight months ago so that doesn't work out however you look at it. Bill says that as she is an army medic she may have been deployed with him, but I don't see that that would make a difference, sleeping together on tour would have been strictly against the rules and even if he had broken the rules, which I would find hard to believe of Charles, trouble would have hit the fan long ago if he'd got her pregnant, it's not as if she would be able to hide it, it's quite obvious.

She is a very, very pretty girl and he couldn't keep his hands off her while they were in the kitchen, holding her hand, putting his arm round her, cuddling her from behind and linking his hands under her baby so maybe the attraction is mainly physical and he will forget all this nonsense about choosing when the physical stuff wears off a bit, so I am just going to have to wait for him to come to his senses. I hope that that doesn't take too long, this is not like Charles.

**Bill**

I have no idea what Penny thinks she is doing. If she wasn't so convinced that she knows best about everything she would see just how much our son adores Molly and how happy he looks, an emotion that has been missing from him for a very long time, in fact, I can't remember ever seeing him look so happy and that's down to her. And, whatever Penny thinks she knows, that is definitely his baby, they were obviously sleeping together in Turkey when she got pregnant, how they've handled the army regulations end of things, I have no idea, that's their business, but I am sure they are both very happy about it, Charles can't keep his hands off her, it's almost as if he has to keep touching her to reassure himself that she's still there.

I remember what he said about her when they came back from Afghan before it all went badly wrong for some reason, that she is incredibly brave, that, apart from saving his life, she had won the Military Cross for saving some other soldier, and they don't give those away with cornflakes. I have the feeling that he has been in love with her ever since they were in Afghan together and Penny is playing a ridiculously dangerous game if she thinks that making him choose between her and Molly will result in her getting rid of the girl. I am not sure why she wants to. And as for calling Rebecca and stirring up difficulties with access to Sam, whatever did she think she was doing? Rebecca is a bitch who will use any weapon she can to hurt Charles and will be insanely jealous of the girl who has taken his heart away, the casualty is likely to be Sam….….. and us, Penny hasn't stopped to consider that we may not see Sam either!

I don't know whether Molly's accent is what they call estuary English, but there are far worse things you can do than speak with a different accent.

**Charles**

We popped out for a pizza, because Molly said that she doesn't want the baby to get too used to posh stuff, she has to live in the real world, not the room service one! The baby obviously didn't mind, she was wriggling about all over the place tonight. Pity mum isn't interested, I would have thought she would have liked to feel her moving about, but I'm not sure Molly would have gone along with that anyway. We agreed to get going in the morning, we are going to spend a couple of days by the sea before we have to go back, Molly back to her Nan's and me back to barracks, and as I said to Molly, it will be good for the baby to get some sea air, so she told me she could get seriously pissed off with me wanting to do everything for the baby and asked me if I was trying to make her jealous, so I told her that of course I was! What we are going to do after we go back I have no idea. That house is my home, all my life is there, or all that was my life, so it is easy to flounce out but a lot harder to organise moving out, always supposing we have somewhere to move to, without going back there first, but I know I will never live there again.

**Authors notes: Glad that you are glad I decided to carry on with this, thanks so much for the reviews. I am not sure how far I will take it, suggestions are welcome. **

**To answer the question about why the army would need to know, I don't think they would necessarily, except for the issue of NoK and dependants, but they might be a tad interested to know how she managed to get pregnant on tour, especially as the dad was her CO!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Walking out has consequences...**

**July 24 2018**

**Charles**

To be honest, I haven't done a spectacular job of providing my new family with a roof over their heads and I find it difficult to have so many things out of my control, it's the army in me! I honestly didn't think things through when I threw my fit and flounced out of the house, I obviously had good reason but rendering myself homeless, well, apart from barracks, was pretty dumb for someone who has always been so in control of themselves! I have heard from dad a couple of times and he has offered us any help we need, as much as we need, I know he feels bad about what's happened, but money isn't the issue. I have more than enough, even after paying for Sam, what with salary, deployment money, savings and my share of the house that Rebecca and I own. We were awarded a 50/50 split when we divorced and that was generous to Rebecca as she never paid a penny towards it but I have done nothing to enforce it up till now, and I am still paying the mortgage, but that will change. I have got Molly and the baby to think about,I can't believe how happy it makes me to keep reminding myself of that and Rebecca should have considered consequences when she threw a tantrum and stopped me from seeing Sam. She will have to live in a house of her means rather than the one of her dreams, or buy me out with her not inconsiderable assets, or get some money from her dad who is seriously loaded and she won't like that one bit! I am on my way to collect Molly from her mum's, that's if I can ever find the bloody place, as it is my turn to meet the family, hope it goes better than when Molly met mine, well, it couldn't go worse, surely?

**Molly**

He's late, I expect he's lost and being a bloke and army as well, he'd rather drive round for hours trying to follow the sat nav than stop and ring and ask! I'll go down and look around, see if I can see him driving around in circles, we are doing the 'meet the family' bit this morning, I wonder if he's nervous? Mum will be fine, she's always nice to everyone and as he's seriously good looking she'll be even nicer to him than she would be to most. I'm more worried about how Nan will be, she doesn't exactly mince her words when she is a bit pissed at someone, so I hope she won't be too pissed at him. I explained all about him yesterday, well the edited highlights anyway, I left selected bits out for obvious reasons, but I explained why we had to keep our relationship secret and mum was okay about it, but Nan was a bit more unsure, so I will have to wait and see. Of course she is also a sucker for a 'looker' as she calls them, so that'll help.

We have an appointment this afternoon to look at some house in Salisbury that he looked at the other day and that he has put a holding deposit on cos he thinks it might do for us to rent for the moment, but he says he won't do anything for definite till I've seen it and agreed. Whatever it's like it won't be the same as Royal Crescent in Bath and it definitely won't be the same as here, so it will be okay, I just wanna move in together. I haven't seen him for a week and I miss him, texts and phone calls are not enough.

When he finally arrived I was downstairs waiting for him and we just hugged and held onto each other for ages, it was as if we hadn't seen each other for months, not just a week, then we kissed and hugged for ages more. It was the reaction I had wanted so much when I got back from R&R in Afghan, just as well I didn't get the same reaction as the one I actually got back then. I knew mum was watching from upstairs, but I didn't care, I just wanted to hold him as much as he seemed to want to hold me. I don't care what this house is like, we're definitely taking it!

His meeting my mum went pretty much as I expected, mum was her usual lovely self to him and only really embarrassed me once when she whispered, not very quietly, "_Can see what you see in him, Mols, I wouldn't kick him out of bed meself" _I had to tell her to shut the fuck up cos Charlie was nearly purple with embarrassment and I've never told him that in my family we're all suckers for seriously good looking blokes! Well, wouldn't like him to get big-headed! Dad, of course, just as I expected, never showed at all, well the pubs were open weren't they?

**Marj**

Belinda rang me when they left to come over, she says he is a bloody good looker and that she reckons he is potty about Mols, well so he should be, she's a real catch for any bloke. Belinda said that he just hugged Mols for ages when he arrived as though he'd really missed her and didn't want to let her out of his sight and that she was obviously pretty happy to see him. Well, young love it might be, that's as maybe, but he has got some questions to answer and knowing Belinda I'll bet she didn't ask him anything at all, especially if he is as handsome as she says he is.

I agree with Belinda about one thing, if I was twenty years younger, alright maybe thirty, I wouldn't hesitate, except that Molly might have something to say about it. They are seriously loved up and as far as I could tell he worships her. He says he has been in love with her for years, ever since they first met back in Afghan, but it was impossible for them to be together then and they went their separate ways until they met up again when they went to Turkey, and this time they ignored the rules. I asked him how come she came home all on her own and pregnant and was so miserable and he said because he didn't know, she didn't tell him and as soon as he found out, he came looking for them both and he's never going to let her out of his sight again. He said that if he'd known he would never have let her go in the first place, and you know what, I believe him. Bleeding hope that was just something you say though, otherwise he sounds a bit like one of them stalkers! I know he is a lot older than her but it didn't seem to matter and I really think that they are going to be happy together, but it probably wouldn't make much difference if we hated him, she's going to move out of here to be with him no matter what we say, just mark my words.

I told him that he'd better be good to her cos if he did anything iffy, I was a real fan of a lady called Bobbit, thought she'd really shown the way. Molly laughed and said "Nan, stop it" but I think Charlie got the point, well he crossed his legs anyway, funny how blokes always do that!

**Charles**

To say I am relieved would be an understatement. Molly's family are lovely, although I didn't meet her dad, Molly says that I deserve one bit of good luck a day and that was mine for today, hope that is not all I am going to get and that Lady Luck will call and make this house work for us. I really hate the thought of her going home tonight and leaving me. Both her mum and her Nan remind me of Molly, which is not surprising I suppose, but they all say what they think, out loud, and to hell with who can hear them, although Molly is a lot less likely to do that now than she used to be when I first knew her. I was as honest as I could be when her Nan was interrogating me about Turkey, mind you I was very aware that I was being a bit economical with the truth but I didn't want Molly to be embarrassed any more than I wanted to be.

I actually envy Molly her family, it is obvious that they want whatever she wants for herself, why can't my mother behave like that?

**Molly and Charles**

"_What do you think, it's that one?"_ Charles pointed at the outside of a modern three storey town house with a "To Let" board outside. It was in a quiet cul-de-sac some half a mile from the town centre and had a short front garden and a parking space and Molly made up her mind on the spot that it would do.

"_Where do we sign and when can we move in?"_

"_You haven't seen inside yet, you might hate it"_

"_It's gonna be fine and I want to live here with you, now"_

"_Come on, let's go in_" Charles laughed as he opened the door_ "I hope you're not expecting me to carry you over the threshold or anything like that?"_

"_Wimp! Actually I'd probably cripple you and I want you in once piece" _she laughed and stuck her tongue out at him_ "I have plans for you later" _

"_Oh, promises, promises!"_

They wandered around the bland interior, it had wood floors, cream walls and fairly decent furniture and all the basic utilities. Nothing was top of the range but it was all fairly decent and it was essential that they had a furnished let as neither of them owned a stick of furniture.

"_We'll buy a new bed, God knows who's slept on that one_" Charles pulled a face_ "We'll throw it away, then leave the new one when we leave. It's bloody annoying, I own half a houseful of furniture and stuff, and I can't get hold of any of it but I don't fancy going round to Rebecca's with a chain saw and chopping sofas in half this afternoon"_

"_Well if you do, I'm not coming with you, your family are bloody scarey"_

"_This from the girl with a Military Cross_" he scoffed_ "and Rebecca is not my family!"_

"_I'd rather dangle on a rope under a helicopter with an insurgent sniper after me than face your bloody mother again"_

"_Oh don't! So we take this from 1__st__ August, yeah? for six months?_ " he grinned and kissed her as she nodded and then hugged her. _"I thought you could go shopping for toothbrushes and knickers and stuff for both of us and maybe even new shirts while I do the paperwork with the agent, and then we can find a nice hotel and stay for the weekend, what d'you think?" _

_**Authors notes: No angst in this chapter, more setting the scene for their new lives together. More fireworks next time. For readers who are a lot younger than me, Bobbit was a lady who took a meat cleaver and cut off her husband's important assets because he cheated or upset her, can't remember her Christian name but she was famous for a while. **_

_**I write this stuff in my head in the early mornings, my cockwomble gets up at 5.30, but I definitely don't, so I have a couple of hours to imagine stuff, then put it on the laptop at odd intervals during the day and this story is expanding all the time. How far I take it is up to you so thanks for the reviews, please keep them coming, they keep me going! x. **_


	8. Chapter 8

**Facing your mistakes has consequences…**

**August 2018**

**Molly and Charles**

"_You're right, you do need a shower, you're minging_" she giggled. Charles pretended to be affronted as he indignantly pointed out that she had pounced on him the second he had walked through the front door after being away for two weeks on exercises. _"Sexy and sweaty is one thing"_ she was still laughing _"But you stink. Go and have a shower"_

"_Only if you promise not to come in and seduce me"_ he laughed, meaning the exact opposite.

"_I can't, it's far too hot to play silly buggers and my recovery time is not as good as yours these days, I'm pregnant in case you hadn't noticed"._

"_Really? Are you? That's a relief. I couldn't think what that was!"_

"_You sarky bastard, don't be so mean"_

"_I'm not being mean, I love it, you know I do. I think you look fantastic and it makes me feel bloody clever to do something that well. And as for being sweaty, I bet you spent all afternoon sleeping under the fan with the windows open and then had a cool shower, you lucky cow"_

"_Don't forget the cool drink"_

"_Yeah, that'd be right! Well, I spent all afternoon in a packed bloody troop carrier wearing full kit in 100 degree heat with a bunch of sweating squaddies, who moaned all the time, as we trundled around Salisbury Plain playing sodding soldiers"._

"_Lovely" she had got his intonation spot on._

"_Actually reminded me of Afghan a bit"_

"_Couldn't do, I wasn't there"_

He was about to joke about her not being the only female medic around when he thought better of it. Molly's confidence could be fragile at times and he never quite knew what would upset her, especially at the moment. He showered away the grime of a long, hot day and listened as she went downstairs and opened the fridge, bringing him a beer as he stretched out clean, cool and naked on their bed, totally happy.

"_I saw Beck today_" he paused_, "I was wondering when I should tell him about us or whether I should just let him find out for himself at some point. If they don't find out until she's ten, it won't matter, because none of them can count backwards!" He grinned "I still haven't got a good answer about how you got pregnant while we were on tour, well not one that would let me keep my job, anyway. Have you decided what you want to do yet? Are you going back to some regiment somewhere or are you going to stay at home and be a kept woman?" _ He thought for a moment _"That's if I've still got a job to keep us! Or should I stay at home and be a house husband and dad while you go back to work? That'd solve the problem."_

"_You don't have all the basic equipment to feed the baby, numptie"_

" _She could have a bottle"_

"_What do you think nature gave me these great tits for? As a reward for you to play with?"_

"_Yup"_

He was just starting to drift into a light doze when he became more than aware that she was lightly butterfly kissing him from his navel downwards, then as the anticipation of what she was about to do began to have the affect she'd intended, the door bell rang_. "Ignore it"_ he muttered as she stopped what she was doing _"They'll come back if it's important…oh please Mols, don't stop, whoever it is will go away if we ignore them"_ Molly ignored him as she started to search the bed for her T shirt and knickers,

" _We'll do this later, I promise, it'll give you something to look forward to_" she giggled_, "Now where the hell is my T shirt?_

"_Whose T shirt?"_

"_Well, what's yours is mine. Okay, okay I'm coming for fuck's sake" _ Someone kept on ringing the doorbell. "_If that's someone peddling religion, I'll shoot them"_ Charles muttered as Molly, engulfed herself in his T shirt and went downstairs, still without any knickers. He could hear a murmur of voices as he tried hard to identify a voice and almost began to doze off, then jerked awake to see her appalled face bending over him as she shook him, "_Get up, its your bloody mother, I can't believe I answered the door to your bloody mother without any knickers on and my T shirt is on inside out"._

"_Oh, fuck, what does she want?"_

"_I don't know, she's your bloody mother, she's not mine, thank God, you go and find out"_

"_I can't" _he gestured to his groin.

"_Think about something else_" she giggled.

He groaned as they both started laughing and she threw him some jeans and told him to get down there, now!

**Penny**

Molly had answered the door and looked totally appalled to see her, or that might be unfair, maybe she was just shocked at her unannounced visit. She had shown her through to the lounge and then scampered off as fast as she could, bearing in mind that she was heavily pregnant. Penny looked around and realised that Charles' bergen was dumped in the hall and his clothing was strewn up the stairs. It dawned on her that he had just got back from somewhere and she had called at a very, very inopportune moment, bearing in mind that Molly didn't appear to be wearing anything other than Charles' T shirt and that was on inside out and that there was a lot of muttering going on upstairs and some laughing.

Bill had finally lost his temper with her and instead of making the faintly supportive and sympathetic noises he had been giving her ever since she had torn their family apart, he had turned on her and told her the plain unvarnished truth that had made her face facts about how ridiculous she was being and how much damage she had caused. The realisation that it was her and only her that had caused the rift and not Molly or Charles had been like a shower of ice down her back. Where and how to start saying sorry was her biggest problem.

He had told her that he had seen Charles several times over the last few weeks and had been for a drink with both of them in the little house they were renting in Salisbury and that in future he wouldn't hear a word against Molly, because in his opinion she was the best thing that had ever happened to Charles and for a split second she had felt completely betrayed. But Bill ignored her small noise of protest and went on that not only was it apparent that they adored each other, but he had never seen their son so happy and relaxed. That stiff army baton that had been attached to his spine had gone completely as the pair of them laughed and teased each other. He had been completely right about what they had got up to in Turkey and when he asked about the army's reaction, Charles said that they had decided not to tell them just yet, and they had both laughed. Molly had added that it had been a close run thing in Afghan as well but they had managed to resist, to which Charles had said 'mores the pity' and they had both laughed again.

Bill told her in no uncertain terms that he expected her to repair the damage she had caused in any way she could and with regard to access to Sam she had to sort it out immediately and in any way she could because he didn't want Charles' new found happiness wrecked and Charles still hadn't been able to see Sam, and from his own point of view, he wanted to be able to share in the joy of both their grandchildren, both Sam and their granddaughter when she was born and while he would like to do that with Penny, if necessary he would do it alone.

Charles appeared from upstairs looking slightly sleepy with his face one huge question mark but he spoke to her as an army Major, not her son.

"_Mum, to what do we owe the pleasure of this visit?"_ Cool, controlled, ultra polite, with no warmth whatsoever.

"_I don't know where to start but I would like Molly to be here as well, I probably owe her the biggest apology"_

"_Yes, you probably do"_ He wasn't giving an _inch "Molly, please can you come down for a minute, gorgeous" he called her._

Molly reappeared, still wearing an inside out T shirt but she did now appear to be wearing knickers. She went and leaned against Charles, her back to his stomach and he put his arms round her with his hands on their baby as she looked up at him and they smiled at each other and Penny suddenly saw what Bill had been talking about, her son adored this girl and he was totally happy with her and she couldn't think for the life of her why she had tried to wreck it. While she was struggling to find the right words all she could say was _"Sorry, sorry, I'm so sorry_" as the tears started to pour down her cheeks. Charles appeared to be completely impervious to her tears but Molly came and put her arms round her and said _"Course you are, come on Charlie, it's not like any of the rest of us haven't fucked up sometimes, is it? You put the kettle on and we'll have a_ _cuppa and talk babies"_ His mother saw the half grin he gave Molly followed by the mock despairing shake of his head which she completely ignored, so Penny found herself saying _"I'd love to" then_ realised that she meant it.

I have spent quite a lot of time now with Molly and have got to know her quite well. She is a lovely girl, so endearing and warm hearted and so good for my son. He is a totally different person to the one that was in a miserable marriage with Rebecca, she makes him laugh like the carefree person he used to be before he was even in the army and they are both very excited about the baby. I know that Charles is very close to Sam and was when he was a baby, but the poisonous atmosphere between him and Rebecca made life very difficult and Rebecca often uses Sam as a weapon to punish him for his shortcomings as a husband. I will always be ashamed that I tried to do the same thing and gave Rebecca ammunition for her on-going battle with Charles. She has relented at the moment, but I fear that that is because he has threatened her with court. I have a feeling that he is going to be a very hands-on father this time, although what will happen when he is deployed I don't know. Molly, being in the army herself, will understand if he has to go, but I don't think he is going to want to. It sounds strange to hear him called Charlie, something he has resisted ever since he was old enough to start objecting, but he seems so totally happy with it that I have found myself thinking of him as Charlie, something I haven't done since he was a very small boy.

My relationship with my son is still quite strained but looking at what I tried to wreck I don't blame him. He has warned me to stop swamping Molly, that she has her own mum and a grandmother who is going to come and stay when the baby arrives and while it is nice of me to take her shopping for baby clothes and stuff because she doesn't drive, I have to remember that she is, despite her fragile appearance, fiercely independent and a very tough cookie. I don't really believe him. As far as I can see she is very sweet, very loving and very kind, the exact opposite of Rebecca and I am not swamping her. He says he lost her once because she felt suffocated, so he is not going to let it happen again, so I have to back off. I explained that I just want her and the baby to have everything they want, he says he wants to spoil her and if I don't stop he will get Bill to cancel our joint credit cards. I hadn't realised before just how bossy he is, army Major through and through. Don't know where he gets that from. I offered to come and look after them to save her grandmother having to come down from London, but he just gave me a long look and then said _"Best not alter Molly's arrangements, thanks"_

Molly tells me that she is doing her best to stop swearing so much, but that it's a difficult habit to break, what with where she comes from in London and then the army, but you know what, and it does still make me cringe sometimes when I hear her swear, most of the time I don't even notice how she sounds any more, it's the person inside that counts, why the hell did I forget that for a while? She says that she is used to making poor first impressions on people, that even Charles didn't like her at first, but I don't believe her, I think she is just trying to make me feel better.

**Molly**

We have managed to patch things up with Charlie's mum although I still can't bring myself to call her Penny, as she keeps asking me to, it would feel too much like calling Her Maj, Lizzie. I know she means well and is really trying to make everything right from her being such a horrible old bag to start with, but she is incredibly bossy, I know where Charlie gets it from now. They both really like to be in charge of everything, so although they have called a truce, there is still a lot of tension between them, although to be fair to her, it is mainly Charlie who appears to be holding a bit of a grudge. Charlie's dad has been over lots, he is lovely and I'm pretty sure he put Her Ladyship up to apologising, I reckon it's his kind of thing but I haven't asked him cos I don't want to make him feel awkward. Charlie tells me that she has offered to come and look after us when the baby is born but he choked her off, thank God! I wonder how she will get on with Nan? Should be interesting!

He is going to ask for a meeting with Beck today. We really have to come clean cos he can't put me down as NoK or put me and the baby down as dependants as things stand without lots of questions and raised eyebrows. We have no idea what will happen.

**Authors notes: Hope you enjoyed this. My other half has accused me of thinking this family are real, and I have to admit he probably has a point but it is mainly because I like them so much. So how sad am I?! Please review for me and any suggestions for story lines would be welcomed. I thought Nan and Penny would be interesting but haven't decided yet. **


	9. Chapter 9

**Unexpected consequences…**

**September 6th 2018**

**Charles**

D day today, I have been waiting nearly three weeks for this meeting with Beck, first of all he's on leave, then away on some bloody junket or other and the more that time goes on the more unsure I get. I actually don't have a clue what I am going to say, doesn't matter how many times I rehearse it with Molly, it doesn't get any better, I am pretty sure I am going to have to resign my commission, either that or face disciplinary, because whichever way you look at it I broke one of the regulations that is looked on as practically one of the ten commandments, there is no way they are going to let me off without throwing the book at me. I know Molly is really worried about me, feels that it is very unfair that I am the one to carry the can for something we are both responsible for and wanted me to put off telling Beck until she could give her side of it, but it wouldn't make any difference what lurid fairy tale she conjured up, she is such a shit liar that no-one would believe it anyway, and I will still be held responsible for my own actions as is only right, I am supposed, as an officer, to have honour and integrity. That little gem got me a bollocking from Mol who told me not to be such a pompous prick, and that while loads of integrity was lovely, she pronounces it just like I do these days, it wasn't going to buy any nappies and to forget what my mum has always told me, bare-faced lying was always a good option and, if necessary, I had her permission to describe her as an out and out trollop! I do love her!

We have spent a lot of time talking about what I can do next because there is no way I am going to stay in, if, as is all too likely, I am stripped of my rank, so I will probably ask to join the reserves, I don't even know if they can stop me doing that, while I become a civilian something or other, haven't got a clue what, but something will turn up,…. I hope.

**Beck**

I have been trying to avoid this meeting with James because I have a pretty fair idea of what it is about and It is going to require very careful handling, I do not want him to admit to anything that I can't ignore so I will have to tread very carefully with the questions I ask, I just bloody hope he doesn't come in here and do a whole lot of breast beating confession shit!

I had a fair idea of how the land lay between James and Dawes way back when we were all in Afghan, I couldn't be the only one who noticed there was a huge amount of chemistry between them, something about the way they avoided looking at each other but you could literally feel the buzz between them when they were in the same place. I don't think anything untoward went on, but I could be wrong and if there was anything then they were very discreet about it and I didn't have to deal with it, although Dawes was distraught when James was injured and there was something far more personal than professional about her After Action Report. I presume that, like most of these things if there was a thing and I'm pretty sure there was, they drifted apart when they returned to real life in the U.K., him to rehab for his injuries and she off on other tours. Apart from anything else she is pretty young, a lot younger than him, but she's a fantastic medic and a Military Cross holder which he wrote her up for, so the fall-out would be a fucking PR nightmare if disciplinary had to be taken even this long after the event, can you imagine what the bloody tabloids would make of it? the Daily Mail would have a field day. I can see the headlines now, "Captain and Medic in Military Cross Scandal", it makes my blood run cold to think of it and we couldn't name him without her identity coming out and he is a superb officer so there's nothing to gain by anyone anywhere.

I would swear on whatever holy book you care to mention that there was nothing going on between them when they deployed to Turkey, I saw the look of horror on her face when she saw who the replacement Major was and his voice and whole demeanour dripped ice. When that changed I don't know, maybe it was unfinished business, but I'm pretty bloody sure it did change although I haven't heard a single snippet of gossip about them. All I know is that she went home pregnant in early spring, of course it could have been someone else entirely that she got involved with, but somehow I doubt it!

He was obviously on edge when we started our meeting, very formal and not a bit relaxed, not the Charles James I know, and I was completely right about why he wanted to see me. He and Dawes are living together so as soon as he told me that I jumped in with congratulations and said how happy I was for them. He looked totally taken aback, it obviously wasn't what he expected, so I asked what Dawes was up to these days, said I hadn't heard anything about her for a while and I pretended to have convenient amnesia about her departure from Turkey, and as soon as he said she was pregnant I jumped in with _"How lovely, I presume congratulations are in order again?" _and very carefully didn't ask when the baby was due but asked him instead whether she was thinking of leaving the army because she had been in more than the four years so she could leave now if she wanted to, was that what she was intending to do?. One thing I wanted to make sure of was that he wasn't given any chance to elaborate on anything that would force me to look at the whole thing differently. I ended by asking him to give her my regards and I said I hoped that all went well with the baby and were they thinking of getting married? Then apparently laughing at my own question I said that it was none of my business so to ignore me. I laughed again and dismissed him and he tottered out looking completely shell-shocked and I breathed a bloody great sigh of relief. I talked it over with Maggie last night as I am not necessarily known for my sensitivity towards touchy-feely things, or so Maggie says, I think she's wrong, but she said that they must have felt it was worth it and that she'd never forgive me if I made a big deal out of it if I didn't have to. I haven't mentioned it to anyone else, the only way to keep something secret is not to tell anyone!

**Charles **

He knew, I swear the bugger knew. I have just spent 15 minutes with him and I said all of 7 words and 2 of them were hello and goodbye. It was as if he didn't want me to say anything at all. I don't actually give a fuck why that happened, I just can't believe that it's over, the relief actually made me light headed for a bit, I was so sure that we were going to be in the deepest possible shit, well I was anyway, that I hadn't considered how I would feel if Lady Luck called again. I don't know whether to phone Molly or just go home, but as I'm not on duty today I think I will buy her the biggest bunch of flowers I can find and go home for a hug! That little house has become home so quickly, it's because it's where Molly is! I used to feel the same in that med tent in Afghan, and that was one of the things I missed so much when it all went to shit, the feeling that there was a place where she was that I could go to so that I could feel better about everything. I know Molly says that I make her feel safe, well she does the same for me, the feeling that there is someone who will always be on my side, whatever happens.

She is asleep on the sofa so I am creeping about, I don't want to wake her up because she is not sleeping very well at night, it is still a bit hot and she is uncomfortable a lot of the time. We have the most incredible physical relationship. I remember her telling me once in Afghan that she didn't know how she was keeping her hands off me, well that has been something we have both found impossible to do since we got together, baby or no baby, and I have missed the closeness of sleeping entwined with her over the last week or so. I am used to sleeping apart from her when I am on exercises or a duty weekend, but that is different to sleeping apart but in the same bed. Not that I have been 'deprived' in any way, Molly can drive me insane with her hands and lips and mouth. The first time she ever made love to me that way she told me afterwards, when I had been laying there totally spent and completely euphoric from the intense explosion of pleasure she had created, that she had never done that with anyone before, that she had never wanted to, and I felt as if I had won some major prize and to be honest, I still feel that way when it happens, but she won't let me make love to her that way, says she feels fat and lumpy and slow and uncomfortable and regardless of what I say, not in the least bit sexy. I wish she could see herself the way I see her.

**Molly and Charles**

"Oh_,shit, they've fired you! Can they do that, don't you have a right to appeal or something?"_

This has got to be the day that he finally regrets ever clapping eyes on me! He has changed into his civvies and he's dozing in the chair and I know this has to be the worst possible news because he promised to ring as soon as he got out from seeing Beck and he didn't ring, just came straight home, and I haven't heard him so he must have been creeping around putting off the moment when he has to tell me. Oh shit, what the fuck am I going to say? Nothing is going to make him feel better this time.

"_Oh no, no, no ,no, no, Oh God I'm sorry I didn't mean to scare you, just couldn't wait to come home and hug you. It's all going to be fine, I think someone kidnapped Beck and put a clone in his place, he was very weird. I swear he knew what I wanted to tell him but he wouldn't let me say anything, I was in and out of there in a blink of a bloody wotsit, Oh and by the way, he sent you his best wishes for the baby and asked me when we were getting married!"_

"_What? This is Beck we're talking about? Lieutenant Colonel Beck? Old I don't follow the rules, I make them, Beck?"_

"_Yep, either a clone of him or he's had a personality transplant, actually I don't care which, all I care about is that it means we're off the hook and can go and celebrate "_

"_What do you want to do_?" Molly paused and smirked at him _"And not that!__"_

"_Well, I thought we could go for a walk to the pub or somewhere, so that every bloke we see can look at us and get really jealous of me" _

**Authors notes: The solution to their problem came to me as I read the paper the other day, (yes, I obviously read highbrow broadsheets, not!) and really noticed how much scandal and outrage is printed and how much the 'establishment' would probably prefer it to disappear. Hope it works for you, please let me know, as I am very anxious to know. Thanks for your reviews, they make it worth writing for,**


	10. Chapter 10

**New Year's Eve final consequences…**

**September 23, 2018**

**Charles**

"_You okay, Dawsey?"_

"_Why wouldn't I be?"_

"_I don't know, maybe because that's the fifth time you've got up in the last half hour. I wondered what was wrong"_

"_Sorry, can't get comfortable, I'm all restless. I walked into town this morning and now I've got bloody back ache like you wouldn't believe"_

"_Why didn't you get a taxi? You are a fuck muppet sometimes, aren't you?"_

"_No… Oi, I can say that, you can't cos it's being mean, and I get fed up sometimes of not feeling like I can do anything, I am fed up of being pregnant, okay?_

"_It won't be much longer, only a couple of weeks and you're good at waiting out for things, remember?"_

"_There speaks someone who still has a life!"_

"_Sorry, I'll rub your back if you want?"_

"_I don't want, well, yes I do actually _" Molly started to giggle in spite of her determination to be awkward_ "but I want to be a grumpy old cow"_

"_You're not a grumpy old cow_" Charles laughed_ "Well, yes you are actually, but you're allowed to be occasionally, just don't think you can make a habit out of it!"_

"_Yes Boss, No Boss, three fuc…"_

"_I'll give you Boss, come here_" Charles interrupted her and pulled her down on the bed next to him, "Where does it hurt?"

"_Doesn't at the moment, but keep rubbing me back, it's nice"_

He knew she was seriously fed up with being at home all the time without much company, it was too far to keep popping up to see her mum or Nan and she missed the camaraderie of army life. She only had a couple of new friends who were local and who had attended the same ante-natal group, one who had just had her baby and the other, who seemed to be a kindred spirit for Molly, they were both a bit bolshie at the classes, was waiting out as well. Unfortunately Molly didn't suffer fools any more gladly now than she had in Afghan and one of the midwives at the classes had, in a moment of pure folly, patronised her, poor woman! As Charles had listened to Molly ranting about this woman he had realised just how much he had missed when Sam was born while he was on tour and had felt real twinges of guilt that he had left Rebecca to get on with it on her own. Sam had been over two weeks old when he had met him, not strictly his fault he knew but he had made very little or no effort to alter things to try and be around. He was determined it would be different this time.

They had spent a fair amount of time with Sam over the past few weeks and he seemed to accept Molly's presence in his father's life quite easily, although he studiously ignored her baby bump, never looking at it or speaking about it or the imminent arrival of his step-sister. Charles didn't know whether to say something or to ignore it because he knew that poison was probably being drip-fed into Sam's ear at home and he was actually desperate to counter it, but Molly reckoned it was best to leave it alone and that it was a combination of his age and sex education classes at school which made him uncomfortable with the idea of them having sex and she reckoned her youngest brothers were the same, doing a lot of sniggering and nudging each other when she was around, cheeky little bleeders. She said that she hadn't needed sex education classes when she was their age cos her mum was permanently pregnant, so he had made a complete idiot of himself by saying smugly that he hadn't needed them either, he was entirely self-taught! Molly fell about laughing as she reminded him that they were about how babies are made and not technique!

He gently rubbed her back as she lay on her side and started to drift off, then saw a grimace cross her face and felt the vice-like clamp of contracting muscles squeezing her stomach until it was rock hard and he panicked.

"_Jesus, Molly how long have you been having contractions?"_

"_They're not contractions, pillock, they're called Braxton somethings and they don't hurt and its far too early for it to be the baby."_

"_Are you sure_?" he wasn't sure he believed her and remembered countless other occasions when she had frightened him and he could hear the panic in his own voice.

"_To be honest, no_" he was beginning to frighten her now.

"_What did they say at the class?"_

"_Ah, might have missed that bit, sorry"_

"_You really are a fuck muppet aren't you_" he was getting seriously annoyed that she'd done the 'Molly Dawes class clown' bit again.

"_Don't speak to the mother of your baby like that"_

"_I'll speak to you any way I like, lady. 08.00 tomorrow morning I'm supposed to be in the middle of sodding Salisbury Plain teaching a bunch of cockwombles to shoot targets and not each other. How can I concentrate on that when I'm bloody worrying about you?"_

"_Can I come?"_

"_No you fucking can't! You're going to the hospital to find out what's going on and whether you are okay to be at home or whether you need to go in, now come on…._." He helped her get to her feet when they both heard a faint pop and water cascaded down her legs and into a pool on the carpet.

"_I think that answers the question don't you?"_ He suddenly realised that his brisk, stern 'don't panic' soldier voice was upsetting her, and it was his job to protect her, to keep her safe, not frighten the living daylights out of her. He put his arms round her and kissed the tip of her nose and smiled into her eyes, then tried to use his softest, most seductive voice, which wasn't easy considering how panic stricken he was inside, to say "_Come on, let's go and find a midwife to piss off"_

**Molly**

I woke up feeling great this morning as though I had enough energy to walk into town. It's only half a mile, but I was pretty knackered by the time I got there, could hardly put one foot in front of the other. I remember when I could do a 10k run in a reasonable time and still speak afterwards, I am going to have to do some serious training when I've had the baby, I feel so unfit, well I'm not unfit exactly but really slow and heavy. I got a taxi back! Ever since I got back I have had this fucking awful back ache which keeps coming and going so that I can't get comfortable for any length of time so I can have a kip and I feel so restless that I can't find my calm. I don't think I'll be doing any more long walks in the near future, I am really paying for this one. At least she has stopped some of her gymnastics today, she is still kicking seven bells out of me but the twisting and turning over has stopped. The midwife on Monday said her head has dropped and that is why I feel like my stomach is falling out, but that she hasn't got a lot of room to shift about now. She's telling me?

Charlie was getting on my tits a bit tonight, he was sort of nagging and worrying away at me about what was happening, I think he thought that the baby had started, but I was sure that it hadn't, well, not sure exactly, but the midwife said that you don't think you are in labour, you know ! And I didn't! Appears Charlie was right and I was wrong, not for the first time either, God, I hate it when that happens and he gets all smug, although he wasn't smug this time, I think he was too scared, well we both were. My waters broke when I got off the bed, Jesus there was a lot of it, I half expected my bump to have disappeared completely when it had stopped gushing. I started to have real contractions in the car and bloody hell they hurt, really hurt. Of course I had left it too late to get an epidural, only I could cock it up like that, but actually pushing her out wasn't that bad, well it was pretty bloody awful but it didn't take that long or not as long as I expected and Charlie was doing his best to encourage me. So much so that I had to tell him that he wasn't a cheerleader and to shut the fuck up, I think the midwife was shocked to be honest.

She is absolutely gorgeous and I cried a bit when Charlie put her on my chest. He didn't cut her cord, we had talked about it before and I knew he didn't really want to cos he is seriously squeamish and he was dreading it, so I said he didn't have to, she wouldn't know the difference after all. She was rooting around looking for my nipple so the midwife latched her on and Charlie and I just looked at each other and he said "_I love you_" and I said _"Ditto_" and I think the midwife was shocked again!

**Charles**

The midwife was a very busy little woman, "Call me Winifred darling" and she made me tired just watching her bustle about, but she was very kind to Mol, well to both of us really. She was so good at calming Molly down at the end when the pain got so bad that she started to panic, told her to stop wasting energy and to get mad at the pain and push it away and it was just after that that she was saying to pant and then the baby's head was there and then the rest of her and she is a total minime of Molly, looks exactly like her, except she has my curls. She is beautiful! I didn't cut the cord, I really wish I wasn't so squeamish, but I really can't help it and I don't think Molly minded.

Winifred asked if we had a name for her and Molly explained that we wanted to see what we thought suited her before we chose, but it was between Chloe and Gemma.

"_How about Izzie? Well she did bring us together"_

"_If you think I'm calling my daughter after a trollop that spent all last winter trying to get into your knickers you've got another think coming_!" I was actually joking but Molly clearly wasn't very amused_._

I have been sent out to make the phone calls to Mums and Nans and to make sure my mother doesn't turn up this afternoon. I am under strict instructions to make sure she knows she can come tomorrow when we are home and not before, Molly finds her exhausting to cope with and I am going to have to choke her off at some point and I don't want her bringing Sam over either, I will introduce Sam to Chloe or Gemma or maybe Izzie, or maybe not, when the time is right.

There is so much stuff to sort out, whether Molly is getting out or going back to the army, she's only got 42 days maternity leave to sort things out and then there is the problem that my little gremlins of conscience are worrying away at now. I know I should have told her before and I know it's not going to go away by pretending it isn't happening and secrets are very dangerous, I should know that if anyone does, but I haven't been able to bring myself to tell her before now and I can't spoil today, so maybe in a couple of days? I can't ignore it for ever!

**Authors notes: Hope you enjoyed this. I tried to keep it as non bloody and pain wracked as I could, those of us who have had children remember only too well, and those without really don't want all the gory details! Haven't actually decided what her name is yet but definitely not Izzie. Please review if you've got time so that I know how it went down and thanks to all of you for your ongoing support. **


	11. Chapter 11

**You can't escape the consequences for ever…..**

**October 7th 2018**

**Molly**

"_So how long have you known"_

"_A while"_

"_And you didn't think you should mention it to me? Christ, Charlie are you ever going to learn? Or are you always going to treat me as though I'm a child who needs patting on the head and protecting for some reason?"_

"_Please don't be angry, Molly, I know I've fucked up again, but I was happy, we were happy, okay I was probably in denial, but I wanted us to stay feeling like that, I'm sorry, I just wanted to go on living in this happy little bubble but you're right, I should have told you, I know I should have told you"_

"_I've heard that somewhere before and I'm not angry because you have to go, that's what you signed up to, that's why we spent so much time worrying about what Beck would do, hell, it's what I signed up to as well, no, I'm not angry with you, I'm bleeding disappointed. I thought it would all be different this time, that you would stop treating me like a responsibility, we are not in fucking Afghan now, and I really thought you were starting to treat me like your 'partner', but it didn't take long for you to go back to your old ways did it?"_

"_What are you saying?"_

"_I don't know"_

I was sitting on the side of the bed feeding Chloe and trying hard not to get upset, I am not sure it'd be good for her to have her mum bawling her eyes out while she was having her lunch and anyway I had just told Charlie that I wasn't a child for fuck's sake. I'd known there was something he wasn't telling me, I could just tell, so I went on nagging and badgering him until he blurted out that he was deployed to help the Peshmerger against Isis in northern Iraq, just about the most dangerous bleeding place there is, and he was on pre-deployment now so he had to go to Catterick next week then he was off in about three weeks, for six months for fuck's sake! I'm angry that he didn't tell me and of course I'm a bit angry that he's got to go but if I was being really honest I would admit that I'm a bit jealous as well. I'm a medic, I'm a bloody good medic, and I loved my job, but that all came to an end the day I jumped into bed with him without using anything. Would I have done it if I'd known then what I know now? Probably not, but then I look at him laying on the bed with Chloe asleep on his chest and his hand tucked under her bum which makes her look so tiny and he looks so sweet holding her like that and I can't be sorry for what happened. I know he loves me and I know I love him but I'm not sure I can live with someone I can't trust to tell me the truth about what is going on.

I am not going back and that has nothing to do with Charlie being deployed, the thought of weaning her onto a bottle and giving her to someone else to look after, probably Charlie's mum, makes me shudder. I could do it if I had to, I thought I was going to have to when I was on my own, I would have to pay for rent and food and that, and I was not going to be an unemployed single mum if I could help it, but I knew I wasn't going to sign on for active service again for a very long time, well not while she was little anyway. It's just that I miss it sometimes.

**Charles**

I know that Molly can look after herself, she is very independent and can definitely keep herself safe without me clucking around her like a mother hen, it's just that ever since I first met her I felt this absolute need to keep her safe and to make sure that she is happy and to protect her from things that might upset her. This isn't the first time I've been a coward about telling her something that I know will upset her but that she really needs to know. I know she is right, we are not in Afghan now and I have to treat her as my partner, not as someone who is too fragile to deal with reality. I am sure that I have completely fucked it up this time, and she is so angry with me that I'm horribly afraid she might leave me and I am not sure I can handle tthat.

Molly has put Chloe in her crib and got on the bed and stretched out next to me and is just looking at me, not saying a word, as if she is waiting for me to say something. There is nothing I can say, so I stroked my thumb down her face and across her bottom lip then kissed her, slowly and gently at first like the first time I ever kissed her, then harder and deeper as she kissed me back until I began to undo the buttons on her shirt. She wasn't wearing a bra and I was very unsure about whether it would be okay to touch her, so I just grazed my thumb across her nipples, half expecting to get a flea in my ear, but within seconds we had turned the clock back a couple of months and I badly needed to make love to her, and judging by the way she was pulling me closer and closer and how shallow and fast her breathing had got, I wasn't alone, but for the first time since we were in Afghan, I managed to have some self-control. I couldn't do what I so desperately wanted to do and what she was straining towards me for because Molly hasn't had her check up yet and I have no idea how easy it is to get pregnant so soon after having a baby or while breast feeding and as usual for us, contraception was an issue. I did not want to risk going off to Iraq leaving her pregnant again. I made love to her exactly as I had wanted to before Chloe was born and she very quickly reached a shuddering climax, then made love to me using her hands and lips and mouth to create a magic that left me totally spent and completely satisfied. I just wanted to lay there forever holding her tight and keeping the world away for a bit.

"_You'll have to get up"_

"_Why?"_

"_I can hear your mother's voice downstairs and it's not fair on Nan"_

"_Oh shit, what the hell does she want?"_

"_She doesn't normally want anything, she just 'pops in' when she's passing, or so she says"_

"_There's no way you can pass here on the way to Bath for fucks sake, I'm going to have to sort her out, aren't I?"_

"_Well, don't do it now, I might need her while you're away"_

"_Are you coming down?"_

"_In a minute. I need a shower first, I am not going to sit and talk to your mum when I'm all sticky and smell of you"_

**Nan**

I asked Molly if the old trout had got DVDs of Margaret Thatcher so she can practise sounding like her, bossy cow. She is a right pain in the arse, always dropping in without warning so she can tell everyone what to do and how to do it, she's seriously getting on my tits. I may have to tell her what's what before much longer, even if she is Charlie's mum. Mind you she came a bit of a cropper this time. She came swanning in like visiting bleeding royalty all ready to organise the troops but the troops had had a fight and had buggered off upstairs and we sat there trying to think of things to say to each other while we could hear noises like they were bonking as they made it up. Don't bother me, but she wasn't very happy at all and decided to get off home, said she will call tomorrow, I wanted to tell her not to bother, but as I say she is Charlie's mum. How the hell did a woman like her end up with a lovely bloke like him? He obviously takes after his dad, who, I have to say, is a bit of alright, I wouldn't say no to a bit of afternoon delight with him meself.

Molly and Charlie just came down and asked where the old trout had gone so I told them what had sent her running for the hills. Molly laughed but poor Charlie blushed so I told him that what his mum needs is a _"Jolly good .."_ I didn't get any further because Molly interrupted me with _"Nan, stop it" _so I said that I was going to say "_Job or hobby maybe_" and she looked at me with her eyebrows raised like she didn't believe a word!

When Charlie went to make some tea I told Molly that I was pleased to see that they had made up and she said they hadn't been bonking, so I asked her "_Why the hell not?"_ and told her that if he was going away they should be making use of every bit of time they had before he had to go. She told me it wasn't that easy what with her not having had the green light from the Doc so I told her that we never bothered with stuff like that when I was younger, as long as everything seemed okay, we just got on and did what we wanted, never did me any harm! I reminded her that it wasn't that he wanted to go, he has to go and anyway she knew this was going to happen when she moved in with him, so she can't complain now, so what she should be doing is thinking about how she wants him to think abour her when he's away. Does she want him to think of her all miserable and moping around cos he's away or as her sparky self, all fun and laughter and a bit of how's your father thrown in? They asked me if I would stay on for a bit, keep Molly company and save her from the old trout moving in, so I said I would as it would give me more time to make my move on Charlie's dad, so Molly said "_Nan, stop it"_ and Charlie laughed and said _"Lucky dad, go for it", _it's a good job his mum can't hear him.

**Molly**

Nan does talk a lot of sense sometimes, of course she's right. I do want him to think of me as cheerful and getting on with things, not as a misery guts and he knows how much I am going to miss him so I don't need to keep on about it. Welcome to the world of military wives! Okay so I'm not exactly his wife, but I'm working on it. What I am going to do is make a plan for the things I want to get done while he's away, like learning to drive and going to the gym and maybe looking at courses at the local college to see if there is anything I fancy that will help me get a job later on. I hope she's joking about Charlie's dad though!

**Brize Norton 23 October, 2018**

**Charles**

So here we are again and this is my last time, I am totally determined that this is my last tour, Beck or no Beck! His blackmail was so subtle I am still not sure whether I am just being paranoid, because I thought that I got away too easily, but he pointed out that I hassled and badgered until I was finally sent to Turkey as a replacement CO and that I had a duty and responsibility to him not to let him down when he needed me for this bloody job in Iraq. I would have agreed with him if it wasn't for leaving Molly and Chloe. I hadn't appreciated how hard it would be not to talk about my beautiful daughter in case someone does the maths and how hard it would be not to talk about the girl I love in case questions are asked about Turkey and her departure last spring and speculation starts about who the father is, and someone joins the dots. What is it they say? Oh what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive!

I haven't mentioned any of this to Molly, I know she would be mad as hell if she knew I was keeping it from her, but she is being so brilliant at putting on a brave face and there is nothing she can do and none of this is her fault. I will Skype her tonight because I haven't seen her for days and phone calls are okay but I miss seeing her face when she tells me she loves me and I hope that Chloe will not be asleep because I want to see her as well. God, I've been here a day and I'm already in bits, will have to pull myself together there is some serious shit going on here.

I wouldn't let Molly tell me to be careful or to stay safe when I left our house and she kissed me goodbye, and she told me she had to because she had heard that Catterick is very dangerous place! That's my girl.

**Authors notes: Thanks for all your reviews, you are all lovely! As you can see, there is more to the deployment scenario than Molly realises and I think that the next chapter will jump the 6 months and we will pick Authors up their lives when he gets back. Please R&R for me, thanks**


	12. Chapter 12

**The consequences of having friends…**

**May 3****rd**** 2019**

**Brize Norton**

**Molly**

My legs are actually shaking cos I'm so nervous and excited, I can't believe he's gonna be here in less than an hour and I can't wait to see him. Jesus, I hope he's pleased to see me, maybe I should have told him I was coming, we said 'no more secrets' but I thought this would be a nice surprise, I bleeding hope it is and that he doesn't slip off, get the car and start for home without seeing me waiting for him, me and Chloe could get stranded here. Shit, why didn't I think of that when I got Nan to drive me here and leave me to wait for him on me own?

I could have driven myself, Nan said I could borrow her car. Well, as she said, I've driven it more than she has since I passed me test, but I've never driven this far with just Chloe and me and I didn't want to have two cars here, I want us to go home together. I haven't told Charlie about me having lessons and passing me test, I want to wait until I can see his face when I tell him, I hope he don't get mad at me for keeping secrets. I thought it would be a nice surprise. Nan isn't staying with me all the time now, she just comes for a few days now and then but she has been stopping over for the last couple of weeks so I could practice me driving in her car and so that she could look after Chloe while I did me final lessons and took me test and so I would have time without the baby to get me hair cut a bit and buy some new stuff to knock him sideways. I have been going to the gym, it was bleeding hard work to start off with and I wanted to give up, but Chloe loves the crèche so I kept going and I have lost all me baby fat and toned up a lot. I want to knock his socks off like I did at the FOB when we sang together, it's a long time since I felt this good about the way I look.

Nan had a real ding-dong with the old trout. I wasn't in there, I was upstairs changing Chloe's bum when Sam came belting upstairs to fetch me, all excited because they was well at it, screaming insults at each other, the old trout was calling Nan a common fishwife who should get back In the gutter and Nan was calling her a bossy bleeding old ratbag who needed a good seeing to, when I screamed _"Shut the fuck up, both of you" _Sam grabbed Chloe and left the room, I could hear him sniggering, well that's eleven for you innit? I told them I was ashamed of them both, fighting like that in front of the kids, but I was winking at Nan on the side of me face that the ratbag couldn't see so that Nan would know whose side I was on. The ratbag said she was going to tell Charlie that I had sworn at her and Nan said she was enough to make a saint swear, so then I had to tell Nan to shut her gob and tell the ratbag that if she did that I would tell him that she lost her temper and started attacking someone in front of Sam. Not sure that was strictly true actually, I think it is more likely that Nan started it, but what the hell, it did the trick!

It was a shame that Charlie didn't get to introduce Sam to Chloe like he wanted to but first up Sam was on a school trip, then he had a bad cold and by the time he was better Charlie was gone, but the old ratbag bought him over and Sam fell head over heels in love with Chloe. He is totally sweet with her, plays endless games of peek-a-boo, carries on long after I would get bored, and she loves him, bangs her little hands on the floor with excitement when she sees him and he also pushes her buggy up and down for hours when she is a bit grumpy. He came and stayed with me for part of the Easter holidays, Rebecca has been really good about it but I think he might have pestered her to death. He is a great kid to have around, loves to help and likes nothing better than to go to the corner shop on little errands, he seems quite young compared to my brothers but I think that is because they are street-wise and he is at boarding school, poor little bleeder!

I am wearing me new gear, really tight jeans that show off my bum and a raspberry pink cropped cardigan with a low scooped neck and long sleeves that just skims the top of my stomach which is really flat and it really suits me. Looks great, but I daren't eat or drink anything in case I have to go to the loo and I am worried that I won't be able to get the zip done up again on me jeans. I just hope it doesn't get any colder either cos it was a lovely day when I left home but it's getting chillier and chillier and I'm really not that warm!

"_Molls? ….Molly?"_

"_Molly Dawes?"…._

"_Dawsey?"_

"_Molly? Is that you?"_

"_Molly? What the hell are you doing here?"_

Oh fuck, I didn't reckon on there being people here I would know and that would know both of us! Fuck, fuck, fuck! Didn't think it through at all did I? Surely they haven't been in Iraq with Charlie, he would have said, wouldn't he? Not that it's not lovely to see them all, it is, I have really missed them, haven't seen some of them for, I dunno, maybe four years. Everyone is talking at once, asking me what I am doing here and who I am meeting and who Chloe is. Fingers said that he could see who her mum is because she looks just like me, yea, course she does Fingers, what with her brown curls and her big brown eyes! And Dangles said he agreed then said _"Shame, poor kid"_ so I punched his arm and called him a wanker and he said it was just like old times! They haven't been in Iraq but in Nigeria and when I asked what it was like Brains said it was hot and smelly with shit food and huge insects that bite and Dangles said shit was the operative word so I presume they had all had gut rot, so I'm glad I wasn't their medic and I said "Lovely" and Brains looked at me funny, I always forget that I say it just like Charlie these days. Chloe is fascinated by Nude-nut, she has seen black people before but not so up close and he is playing peep-o with her with a big grin on his face with his lovely white teeth, so that she is banging her hands on the seat with excitement and chuckling at him. I'd forgotten what a nice bloke he is! They asked me who the lucky bloke is that I'm meeting and where has he been and what will I do when he gets treatment for his mental illness and other flattery and just at that moment I caught sight of him coming through the arch into the arrival hall. He is talking to someone and hasn't caught sight of me yet. I need to send him mental messages not to come over unless we want to be busted.

**Charles**

Can't believe that's it, my last tour finished and it's been by far the worst, even worse than the early tours in Afghan. It feels like a lifetime since we were here in October, a lifetime of danger, the tension of not knowing who you can trust, crap living conditions, freezing bloody cold in the winter, lousy food and lots of refugees, all the kids look half-starved and cold, their little faces all pinched, and yet they still laugh at us when we smile at them, good job Molly wasn't with us, she would have wanted to take them all home with her, but at least we all made it home in one piece. I think that has been the difference on this tour, I wanted to be somewhere else all the time, not something I have experienced before, much as I love Sam I never had the feeling before that someone had cut off all my limbs. It was made worse by the lack of Skype or decent satellite phone connection so we had to rely on letters. Molly was really good, wrote twice a week, sometimes long letters which I loved and sometimes short notes when she was busy and sometimes with photos of Chloe which made me realise what I'm missing. I missed her first Christmas for God's sake and all so that a bunch of nut jobs could be prevented from killing each other and I knew it really was time to call it a day when I realised that I didn't care, I just wanted to go home.

Just need to collect my stuff and get the car and get off home, should be there in about an hour and a half or less than two hours certainly and I can't wait to get there and see my family, and that sounds great to me.

I was talking to Bill as we came through and I felt her eyes on me, or I should say someone's eyes, but I knew almost instantly as I turned and looked straight at her then caught my bottom lip with the my teeth and my whole face turned into a huge grin, only Molly can send me messages with her eyes like that, we used to do it all the time in Afghan, we never did it in Turkey but that's because we were still being morons about each other, but I can pick up on her messages as clearly as if she had spoken and she was saying 'be careful, watch out'. I could see what the problem was immediately, but actually I don't give toss, couldn't wait to get over there to her and to hell with everything else. I always forget just how tiny she is and just how pretty, but she looked even more gorgeous today than I remembered. I got waylaid by the lads as I joined their noisy little group, lots of "_how the hell are you?"_ and "_where have you been_?" and _"good to see you Boss"_ and then _"Have you seen who's here? Our Molls"_ which gave me the lead to push past them straight up to her, lift her up so that her face was level with mine and, as she put her arms round my neck, I told her that she looked beautiful. She said that I didn't look too shabby myself then I kissed her and we might as well have been on a deserted beach somewhere or in the middle of a field, they all just faded away and it was just us.

"_What are you doing here?" _

"_I thought I'd surprise you"_

"_Well, you've done that alright, you look amazing"_

"_I know"_

Nude-nut was the only one totally unaware of what had been going on, and that was because he was playing with Chloe, but to say that the others were entranced would be an understatement, I have never seen so many shocked faces in my life. So I added to the surreal atmosphere by going over to Nude-nut and picking up my daughter with a _"Mine, I believe" _Unfortunately this grand gesture was spoilt by Chloe sticking out her bottom lip, which was quivering wildly in dismay because I had interrupted her one-to-one time with Nude-nut which she miles preferred to this strange man hoicking her up in his arms. Molly took her off me and said _"Don't be mean to Daddy_" and promptly burst out laughing. She is an unbelievably beautiful baby, tiny and dainty like Molly and with Molly's features and my curls and brown eyes and an enchanting smile. A bit of that smile will probably wrap me round her little finger!

It's hard to believe she's mine

**Molly**

The interrogation started in earnest with the nosy bastards wanting to know everything, most of which we weren't prepared to tell them. We fudged the issue of how long we've been together by saying 'a fair while' and pointing at Chloe, then Dangles asked when he had fallen in love with me and I think they all expected Charlie to say something romantic about us singing together or whatever, well I did as well to be honest, but Charlie answered with "_When I threatened to lob her out of the plane_". There was a bit of a silence, talk about a showstopper. Fingers asked if we were going to get married and Charlie said _"I dunno, I don't think she'll have me"_ so I stood on tiptoe and whispered _"You'd have to ask me first" _and he told me not to be so impatient and I'll have to wait out, cheeky bastard. I hope that we haven't walked into a whole load of trouble by letting people see us together and Charlie letting everyone know who Chloe's dad is, but we'll find out won't we?

I was desperate to get off home and Chloe obliged by starting to get tired and grumpy, kids are useful sometimes I'm finding, so Charlie went off to get the car from the secure compound which seemed to take forever and then we said our goodbyes and went out to the car. I strapped Chloe into the seat which was in the car, it's a bit small now so we'll have to buy a new one, and then we stood against the car door and had our first real hug, then he began to kiss me and he whispered that I look totally gorgeous and I could feel how much he wanted me. He said lets go home and I said I wasn't sure we could wait that long and I thought we might have to go and find a Travelodge, and he said it would probably take us longer to find a Travelodge than it would to get home, so we went home.

**Authors notes: This was for those who wanted some of 2 section to make a comeback and who wanted a happy reunion and that included me. Thanks for your lovely comments, please review for me and any suggestions of what you want included are always welcomed. Next chapter will be the next day and the start of their new life as a family of 3 plus Sam (oh and don't forget the ratbag)**

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	13. Chapter 13

**Almost final consequences….**

**May 3 2019**

**Molly and Charles**

" _Oh go on, you know you want to" _he was kissing her neck and running his hands under her loose cardigan "Nice bra"

"_It's new and no, we can't leave Chloe in her bloody seat while we go upstairs, you'll just have to wait out_" Molly was struggling to keep his wandering hands at bay while she giggled.

"_Won't take long and we don't have to go upstairs"_

"_What a lovely offer, thanks but I'll pass, a quickie in the kitchen isn't quite what I had in mind"_

"_What did you have in mind?" He raised and waggled his eyebrows, trying to look suggestive._

" _Go and have a shower, a cold one"_ She laughed at him, thoroughly enjoying herself.

"_You're cruel. I'm a returning war hero"_ he was pulling his beseeching puppy dog face as he struggled not to laugh.

"_No you're bloody not, stop pulling that face, it won't get you anywhere_" Molly slapped him on the bum as she turned him round and pushed him lightly towards the door.

**Molly**

We've been home a couple of hours and most of the time he's been trying to get me to stop what I'm doing and do what he wants to do instead which is to go to bed. Well, actually I'm enjoying it cos I'd quite like to go to bed as well, but we both know we can't, well not till Chloe's gone to bed at least. Only another couple of hours, then I can make it up to him, and to me, for having to wait. I am so glad he's home, it's lovely to see him, I'd forgotten how bloody good looking he is, he still makes my knees go all wobbly when I see him, but he looks a bit thin, he says the food was shit and being so tall he really can't afford to lose too much weight. Hark at me I'll be talking about fattening him up soon, I sound like someone's wife, I wish he would ask me, I wonder why he doesn't?

"_Do I need to go to shopping at the chemists?"_

"_No…..and you've got a one track mind" she laughed at the expression on his face "Didn't you have a cold shower?"_

"_I had a shower, just not a cold one"_ he laughed as he picked Chloe up _"I could take her for a walk and wear her out then she could go to bed early"_

"_It'll wear you out, more like_" Molly laughed at him_ "She'd probably go to sleep in the buggy and then she won't go to bed until really, really late"_

"_Okay, bad idea" _he blew a gentle raspberry on Chloe's neck as she chuckled_ " You know Clo, you're a great contraceptive."_

"_Charlie! And don't call her Clo" _Molly tried to sound shocked and failed miserably.

**Charles**

Molly looks amazing, seeing her standing there at Brize surrounded by the lads gave me a physical shock, she looked just like she did when I first clapped eyes on her and when we were together in Afghan, a beautiful tiny little doll with a smile that used to make my heart miss a beat and go straight to my groin when we were in that bloody FOB, the only difference now is that she's mine and I sometimes find that very hard to believe. It was fun when we shocked the guys, their faces were an absolute picture. I could never understand why no-one guessed how close we were, I always thought Dangles had sussed us when we sang together or sussed me at least, but everyone was so convinced that she was Smurf's girl that they didn't see what was right under their noses. Amazing how people see what they expect to see and nothing else. This tour was a nightmare, I've always believed that homesickness could be dealt with by keeping busy and concentrating on other things, but I know now that I have probably been less than sympathetic with people who were missing their wives or partners, missing Molly was like a physical pain, each day was like a week and each week a year and what New Years's Eve was like doesn't bear thinking about, although as Molly has reminded me more than once, it was actually New Year's Day when we got together. I have only got today and tomorrow then I have to report to barracks and will have to start thinking about where my, or I should say our, next posting will be. We are very unlikely to be able to stay here, I hope Molly realises that she is probably going to have to start all over again making local friends and I know she has set her heart on taking up a college place in September, I hope that is going to be possible wherever we go. Why are things always so complicated? One thing is definite, doesn't matter how much pressure or blackmail or whatever else Beck tries, I have just done my last active service tour, barring the outbreak of World War three, that's my lot and if I have to resign my commission I will !

"_Sorry, sorry"_ He was mortified, his male pride badly dented. He had known that it was probably going to be over very quickly, far too quickly, but her telling him she was on the pill and that he didn't need a condom hadn't exactly helped matters, this was one time when a condom might have been helpful.

"_You missed me then_" she giggled as she stroked the back of his head _"Well, you did say it wouldn't take long"_

"_Are you smirking at me?" _

"_Just a bit"_ she kissed him "Wh_at's your recovery rate like d'you reckon_?"

"_Bloody brilliant I should think"_ He hoped that he wasn't fooling himself or her, as he started kissing a trail down her throat to her breasts, then remembered _"Hey, how come you went on the pill?"_

"_The postman don't like condoms" _She giggled_._

"_Must remember to thank him next time I see him"_

**Molly**

His recovery rate turned out to be bloody spectacular. What is it with blokes that they think they've got something to prove or it's like someone's going to give them a score or something, to me it wasn't important, it just didn't matter, but he obviously didn't see it like that. I started kissing him from his scar downwards, just to help things along a bit, but he wouldn't let me, said that if I carried on like that we was gonna get an action replay of round one, which I thought was quite funny, but I'm not so sure he was joking. I don't think I understand blokes. After, we was laying there just cuddling, not talking, just being quiet together, actually I'm quite tired, it's been a long day and Chloe will be up by six, when suddenly Charlie started to talk about what might have been and how this was how we was always meant to be and how it was a shame that we had wasted so much time. I wish he wouldn't, I still feel guilty about what happened, after all it was all my fault, I was the one who behaved like a muppet, not him. I was trying really hard not to get all upset cos I know he doesn't blame me and that he thinks that what happened with us was mainly his fault, not mine, but I still feel bad about what I did to Bashira and her family, even worse now that I've got Chloe. I don't think I will ever be able to forgive myself totally or forget what happened, but I can't go back and change it so I have to learn how to live with it, but sometimes it's hard.

I need to talk to Charlie about his mum, but I think I'll leave it till tomorrow in case he doesn't like what I'm gonna say.

**May 4 2019**

**Charles**

I wasn't entirely sure where I was when I first woke up this morning. It's always difficult waking up in my own bed after a long tour and then I get this real feeling of warmth and safety and a sort of relief that I've made it home, but the feeling this morning was unbeatable. I was still on Iraqi time so I was the only person awake in the house, it was very still and quiet and cool, even Chloe was still asleep and Molly says she wakes up really early, the sun was just coming up and the person I love most in the world and who loves me just as much, was curled up next to me fast asleep and I was filled with this feeling of everything being right, I would say perfect but Molly says she doesn't do perfect, she's wrong of course. I put my arm round her waist and cupped her breasts, just rubbing my thumb really lightly over her nipples, feeling her respond to me as she pressed her beautiful bum back into my groin, I wasn't trying to wake her up, well not trying very hard, but I managed it anyway.

Afterwards we could hear Chloe chattering away to herself and then starting to whimper so I said I would get her up. Molly said I'd have to change her bum so I got all macho and said no problem. How the bloody hell do you put one of these nappies on a baby who is intent on rolling over and crawling away from you? And she was laughing while she did it. Molly had to come and rescue me and once again I felt a real pang of guilt and sort of loss, because I never once changed Sam's bum, that was Rebecca's department. I would have described myself as a good dad, but now I'm beginning to wonder.

We had a long chat this morning about my mum. Molly reckons she is lonely and that's why she is such a pain in the arse. Apparently she made a fucking nuisance of herself while I was away, had a huge row with Molly's Nan, although Molly reckons her Nan probably started it, and was in and out of here like a yo-yo, never phoning first and taking over all the time without being asked. Molly says we should try and look at things from her point of view, my dad is great but not the best at making her feel important, she hasn't got many friends, if any, or a job, or a hobby so we're all she's got, that's me and Sam and now Chloe and no-one else. When I said she should add herself to the list Molly told me not to push it.

Mum's always been brilliant with Sam, helped me look after him when I split from Rebecca and I had him for the day, and she was also brilliant when I was injured, I would have been in real trouble without her and she was probably totally aware of what went down when Molly dumped me and I was a mess, so when you think about it, it was hardly surprising that she didn't exactly welcome Molly into my life with open arms. None of that excuses the way she's been but I think Molly's right, it explains it a bit and her spending pots of money is just her way of trying to buy our approval so that she could still feel that she is important in our lives, or my life really. Poor mum. I feel so guilty, she's my mum and she's been pretty good to me and I've shut her out. She's been especially good about bringing Sam over to spend time with Molly and Chloe and now that Rebecca has found some other poor sucker to entertain her it's important that Sam feels part of our family. I have had my settlement from the house, as I expected Rebecca's dad bought me out, so money is suddenly not an issue at all and I have forgone the furniture and stuff, Molly says she would rather go to Ikea or even a 'Pound Shop' and buy new than have the stuff that Rebecca chose.

**Molly and Charles**

"Catterick, bleeding Catterick? That's bandit country isn't it? And it's full of trees and shit, why do we have to go to Catterick?"

"Well we're lucky it's there and not 6 months with the UN in Cyprus"

"I quite fancy Cyprus"

"Cyprus is unaccompanied, you would have had to have stayed behind and Catterick's not so bad, 2 section, well what's left of them, are there and Jackie, and we could buy you a car "

"Are you trying to bribe me?"

"Yeah, is it working?"

"Dunno yet, keep going"

"We'll go up in a couple of weeks, have a look at houses, see where we want to live, might even see one we want to buy and we'll get mum and dad to look after Chloe, it'll make mum's day, and we can have a few days holiday while we're at it, yes?"

"Okay, it's working"

**Authors notes: This is the penultimate chapter of a story that has been an enormous amount of fun to write, but I do have a little twist in the tale to end the story. Thanks for all your on-going support, you've all been great. I am sure I speak for other authors as well as myself when I say that we all need reviews so that we know that you are reading and enjoying as it is the only feed-back we get, and your reviews stop us developing low self esteem, we're all as bad as Molly really! **

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	14. Chapter 14

**Final consequences…**

**August 19 2019**

**Molly and Charles**

They were laying on the bed in Charles' old room in Bath, for once without Chloe who was being looked after by her doting grandmother. They had moved out of their Salisbury home three weeks ago ready for their move to Yorkshire in just over a week, which Molly was still moaning about, more because she had made a stand and didn't want to back down too quickly than anything else. Staying with Charles' parents hadn't been too horrendous, even though Molly couldn't wait to move out, she had decided that she wasn't very good at staying with other people any more, much preferred to do her own thing but staying there had meant that she and Charles had managed one weekend and one whole week away, both times without Chloe

"_So when shall we do it then?"_

"_Do what?"_

"_Get married"_

"_You'll have to ask me first"_

"_I thought I just did"_

"_I was expecting something a bit more bleeding romantic than that"_

"_Oh, you want romantic? I can do romantic, listen up, Molly Dawes, love of my life….."_

"_Okay, don't go over the bleeding top"_

"_Shut the fuck up and listen, now, where was I? Oh yeah, Molly Dawes, love of my life, mother of my child…"_

"_Children"_

"_No, I know you're his sort of step-mum, but Sam's got a mum"_

"_I weren't talking about Sam" _

There was a stunned silence as Charlie looked at her, lost for words, and Molly felt the first pangs of worry, maybe this hadn't been such a bright idea after all, it hadn't crossed her mind that he might not be as thrilled about this as she was.

"_You're pregnant? But I thought you were on the pill"_

"_I was, but then I wasn't any more"_

"_And you didn't think to tell me. When exactly were you going to tell me?"_

"_I just did"_

"_No, I meant tell me that we were trying for a baby"_

"_Well we didn't have to try very hard as it happens." _His face was still stern_ "Look, I thought it would take a long time, what with me coming off the pill and that, and I didn't say anything when we was on holiday cos the timing was spot on and anyway I thought you might say no"_

"_That makes it worse, not better. Christ alive, I've got three kids, okay two and one cooking and none of them were planned"_

"_I planned this one"_

"_Yeah, you did! But next time you're planning on us having a baby, do you think you could involve me?"_

"_You were involved, I couldn't have done it without you"_

"_Oh, was the postman too busy that week?"_

"_Dunno, didn't invite him, did I"_

Molly was relieved that his sense of humour was re-emerging, of all the scenarios she had had in her head involving telling him she was pregnant again, this particular one hadn't figured at all and she had certainly never intended to hurt him or upset him or make him feel left out, she'd thought he'd be thrilled, but now she was really sorry that she hadn't talked to him about it, just gone and done what she wanted, and the more cross he appeared the more she wanted to giggle, a throw back to her reaction to trouble in year's gone by..

"_What the fuck gave you the idea I would say no? Anyway even if I had said no it wouldn't have made any difference, would it? You know I am incredibly weak-willed where you're concerned, Mol. I presume this was when we went away without Chloe? I remember thinking you were extra keen, couldn't get enough of me, I just didn't see baby hunger in your eyes. I thought it was, what did you call it, I know, my incredible charm and magnetism at work. And on the subject of being left out of things, why didn't you tell me when you'd done the peeing on a stick bit, I presume that was a couple of weeks ago now?"_

" _Haven't peed on a stick, don't need to"_

"_How do you know you're pregnant then?"_

"_Oh I dunno, maybe cos my period's gone AWOL, my tits are killing me and the smell of your coffee made me want me want to puke this morning, or maybe all that's just wishful thinking. And I didn't tell you cos it was like with Chloe, even though everything was really shit with her, there was a bit of me that wanted to hug to meself the fact that you had left a little bit of yourself behind and this time was almost the same, although it's not shit this time, or at least I hope it ain't gonna be, it was my secret and I was thrilled. I'm really sorry Charlie, do you think you could stop being mad at me now, you're beginning to worry me that it's all gonna go to shit and I didn't mean to leave you out, I honestly thought you'd be thrilled too!"_

"_I'm not mad at you" _

"_You seem like you are"_

"_I'm sorry, I'm being a dick, aren't I? I'm behaving like a sulky brat! And I am thrilled, of course I am, you know that I never wanted Chloe to be an only like I was, and Sam will be too old to want to play with dolls in a year or so, or at least I hope he will, it'll be good to have another one now. Mum'll be thrilled"_

"_Yeah, she can tell me exactly what to do and how to do it to bring up a boy"_

"_Going to be a boy then is it?"_

"_I dunno, I'd like a boy, wouldn't you?_

"_Not fussed really, a girl to play with Chloe would be just as good, but if it is a boy, I hope he's taller than his mum and sister"_

"_Sizeist! I can't help it if I make small babies. Oi, what are you doing?"_

"_Celebrating"_

"_Well okay, but don't touch my tits whatever you do, they're killing me!"_

A few minutes later.

"Y_ou didn't answer my question"_

"_What question?"_

"_Are you going to marry me?"_

"_Course I am"_

**One year on**

"_Never thought I would be back staying in this bedroom again"_

"_It's nice of your mum and dad to put everyone up. I know they are the only ones with the room, but still, they didn't have to let everyone stay here"_

"_And I saw your Nan and my mum having a conversation"_

"_Bloody hell, mind you don't hold your breath, there's still plenty of time left for them to fall out before the reception"_

Molly finished feeding the baby and handed him to his dad to hold while she got dressed.

"_Have you done a bottle so that mum can feed him if he screams the place down during the ceremony?" _

"_You don't want me to get my tits out in church then?"_

"_Listen, I have spent enough time and energy being nice to that arsehole vicar so that he would agree to marry us in his bloody church, he isn't going to cop a look at my wife's tits as well okay?"_

"_He might prefer yours"_

"_What's that supposed to mean?"_

"_Nothing, absolutely nothing at all!" _Molly started giggling and then changed the subject _" Will I do? Is me dress okay?"_

"_You look beautiful, you know you do and you know that I love you don't you?"_

"_You'd better. I love you too. Come on let's go"_

**Authors notes In my head, or my parallel universe as my husband calls it, where these people are real, this chapter called for lots of conversations, I hope you agree. This is where I have to let them go for the moment, although I may do a couple of one-shots later on to catch up with them. Thank you so much for all your ongoing support and lovely reviews, I have just started working on a totally new story which is completely different so I will be back!**


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